


First Or Last

by Jayjaykirschtein



Series: When I Grow Up [1]
Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Lots of stuff happens, some of it can be ooc or incorrect but idc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 13:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 133,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8058550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jayjaykirschtein/pseuds/Jayjaykirschtein
Summary: Once they all found their own lives, everyone guessed that they would be the first to get married. But it seems like they'll be next to last, if he ever decides to grow a pair and pop the question. Rated T for language.





	1. Strange

**Author's Note:**

> These are my author's notes transferred over from the other website. Enjoy their stupidity. 
> 
> Okay so this is my first Ouran fanfiction. I really love Tamaharu and how the manga storyline played out for them but some of the final omake timeline is hard to follow and calculate (especially if I'm gonna follow the 2005 timeline since that's when the manga started). SO to avoid further confusion, I'm taking the facts that they end up together and (kind of old spoiler) are the first of the hosts to have children, but adding my own filler facts to this story.
> 
> It never said they were the first to get married. They could have been the first, or maybe last?
> 
> Anyways I'm gonna have some OC's in this for the purpose of filling in the other characters lives. Even though we all love Tamaki and Haruhi, I still want to know where the other's ended up, don't you?
> 
> So it starts out like that. The first OC is Kaoru Hitachiin's girlfriend (who is the only daughter of a prominent Italian fashion designer) Natalia Rossi. For visual purposes, she has long curly/wavy dark brown hair, green eyes, is a few inches taller than Haruhi, and has a lovely splash of freckles on her face. The rest is up to your imagination. Her personality will be shown in later chapters.
> 
> So without further-ado, here is the first chapter of First or Last?

**31 March, 2015**

**About ten years since it all began...**

" _Haarruuuuhhiiiiiiii~ "_ his voice rang through the entire house, as always. Whether it be for a simple loving gesture or for an important message, he always seemed to sing her name. And oddly enough, it usually came from the same place, the kitchen.

"What is it now Tamaki?" she replied, as annoyed as ever. " This better be important. I was in the middle of doing some research for this new case I just got."

The blond turned to his girlfriend, who had just walked into their kitchen, and started pouting. "Haruhi darling, we've been together for about nine years now. Do you always have to be so cruel? It's not a crime to want to see my darling girlfriend's beautiful face and hear her amazingly melodic voice."

Haruhi scoffed and rolled here eyes, trying hard not to show how amused she was at her boyfriend's adorable antics. Even after all these years he still knew how to flatter anyone he came across, and while she found him incredibly insufferable for being an overt flirt, Haruhi found Tamaki's dramatic flare for the romantic honestly endearing. It was annoying when she knew it was all hyped up in the host club, but something about the way he smiled at her and called her beautiful made her heart flutter. Pushing these painfully sappy thoughts aside, Haruhi sat on one of the island bar-stools and let out a small laugh. "My voice is hardly melodic, Tamaki. Now you're just making stuff up. And I know for a fact that you didn't call me down here just to see me. If that were the case you would've just come up to the office instead. So, Tamaki. Why did you call me down here again? And don't tell me you cooked again. We just ate like twenty minutes ago."

"No, it's not about food this time. And even if it was, you I would be able to manage on my own. I've picked up some skills here and there from watching you." He chuckled and turned to the counter behind him. He then picked up a card and held it in front of his face.

"It seems like we've gotten another postcard from Kaoru!" Tamaki sang happily. "He looks to still be very happy with Natalia in this picture. And this time they are in her home country! Look Haruhi, they're in Milan, Italy! It wouldn't surprise me if they're there for fashion week, of course. But fashion week already happened right?" Tamaki mumbled to himself about the schedule of the different fashion weeks around the world and the probability of his friends attending one at the current moment. It was obvious that there was some kind of code Tamaki was trying to crack, though he probably dreamed up said code himself. 

Haruhi, becoming slightly irritated at the fact that something as trivial as a postcard from Kaoru was reason enough to call her from her work, sighed and put her head in her hands. "Is that really all you called me away from my work? Tamaki, we get postcards from Kaoru all the time. We've been getting them from him ever since he and Nat started traveling the world." Haruhi said the last part with a bit of a condescending tone. " _I mean, why would someone do something like that. Can't he do something more practical? He did take over for his mother in the fashion business after all. Doesn't he have a fashion line to run?"_

Tamaki ever-so-slightly gasped and pouted again, his glass heart shattered into a million pieces (but only for about thirty seconds). "Haruhi, how could you be so cruel to your longtime lover? I would never be so inconsiderate as to pull you from such arduous work. I called you down for a much more important reason than just another silly postcard from the more tolerable of those devilish twins. There is something different about this one. Here, read it." He handed her the card and she began to read it aloud.

_"Ciao, from Milan! Tamaki and Haruhi, just writing to say hi! Everything is still going great just as I hope it is with you two. I know I could just as easily call you guys, but postcards are more fun, and Nat loves to take pictures! Anyways, miss you guys. Hope to see you soon!_

_Sincerely, Kaoru Hitachiin"_

Haruhi looked up from the card. "What's wrong with this? It's just another letter. I don't know why you always get so worked up over nothing. You should really try and relax more-"

" _HAARRRUUUUHHHIIIIIII~!"_ He cut her off. Now it was time to reveal the secret code he's been working hard to crack.

_"Oh God. Here we go again. He's gonna start whining until he gets his way..."_

"I'm not getting worked up over nothing, I swear! This letter is different than the others. The card never says 'Hope to see you soon!' and also did you notice that Natalia didn't sign it. Usually she writes them because her handwriting is exquisite!"

She sighed hopelessly. "But what does any of that matter? Maybe Kaoru wanted to write the card this time. What's wrong with that? What exactly are you getting at?"

Tamaki took a deep breath and stated as matter-of-factly as he could, "Kaoru is planning to propose to Natalia soon!"

Internally groaning, Haruhi did her best not to walk out of the kitchen without saying a word. Tamaki was being absolutely ridiculous, drawing such incredibly insane conclusions from a single post card. Kaoru was never the most cryptic person. Of the twins, he was the one who was always more honest with his emotions. So why would now be any different. Haruhi wanted to scream. ". . . Do you even know that for su-"

Haruhi was quickly interrupted when her cell-phone began to ring. She recognized the ringtone. It was Kaoru.

She shrugged it off as nothing more than a coincidence and answered the call. "Hey Kaoru. What's up? Tamaki and I were just talking about you. We just got your Milan postcard in the mail."

_"Hey Haruhi! Oh you did? That's great because I kinda wanna talk about that. I'm guessing you noticed that I wrote it this time instead of Nat.-"_

An "ah-ha! I was right" was heard coming from Tamaki in the background as the blond began to pace the kitchen in anticipation. 

Haruhi did her best to ignore the urge to chuck her phone at Tamaki as he became a mumbling idiot in front of her. "Actually yeah we did. Tamaki was freaking out about it. I don't know why though. It's not like it's some hidden message, right?"

_"I knew Tamaki was smarter than he let on. Actually, Natalia didn't even know that I sent that postcard. The picture was just one I used off of my phone. And so far I've only sent this one to you two and Hikaru. I tried calling Hikaru but . . . Anyways, I was hoping you guys could help me out. I've been with Nat for about five years now, and I really love her. I knew Hikaru wasn't so happy when I started dating her after we met in Boston, but that surprisingly didn't matter much to me. Well. . What I'm trying to say is. . . She is the one. And I want to ask her to marry me but I don't know how."_

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT! I TOLD YOU HARUHI! I WASN'T FREAKING OUT FOR NO REASON AGAIN! I WAS RIGHT!" Tamaki shouted as he ran all around the house jumping for joy.

"CALM DOWN , WILL YOU! I GET IT OKAY! NOW LET ME FINISH TALKING TO KAORU!" Haruhi, extremely irritated at Tamaki's obnoxious behavior, screamed as she pulled the phone away from her face.

"Sorry about that Kaoru. It seems Tamaki already knew you were going to tell us this. And that's great! I'm really happy that you want to spend the rest of your life with her, but what does that have to do with us?"

_"Well I just thought that since you and Tamaki have been together for so long now, you'd be able to help me ask her. And plus he has always been the charmer, right? So he can at least give me a few things to say so I don't sound completely terrified."_

Haruhi laughed and shook her head as she heard Tamaki continue shouting excitedly upstairs. "Well yeah, he has always had his obnoxious charm to live by. . . But he sure as hell isn't any good when it comes to confessing things."

Tamaki had taken his giddiness upstairs to let Haruhi have some quiet. Peeking out of the kitchen entryway, Haruhi made sure Tamaki had no intention of returning until the phone call was over. She decided to take this opportunity to ask one of her best friends for advice as he asked her for some as well. 

"Kaoru, can I ask you something?"

_"What is it Haruhi? Is Tamaki pissing you off again? Do I have to come and kick his ass into another dimension?"_

She laughed and quickly reassured Kaoru that nothing of the sort needed to happen. "No, that's not it. Well kind of. But there is no need for ass-kicking. You just mentioned how Tamaki and I have been together for a while now, right?"

_"Unless I completely imagined what I said not even five minutes ago."_

"Well don't you think we shouldn't be dating anymore? I mean- Not like we should have broken up by now, but. . . Like more than dating."

Kaoru took a moment to reply, fully knowing what Haruhi was getting at. He sighed and spoke softly on the other line knowing what Haruhi's answer would be. "You _mean you think he should have asked you to marry him by now?"_

"Well. . . Yeah. Is that wrong?" She, very uncharacteristically, played with her hair as she continued to speak. She felt bad and confused for thinking like this. She even felt a little selfish, because I mean if they were meant to get married then they would. Why rush things if they were destined to happen eventually. But sometimes fate needs to be taken into one's own hands and . . . She sighed and continued her thoughts out loud. "I mean we have been together since the end of my first year of high school. And that was almost a decade ago. Isn't it a bit uncharacteristic of him to not have proposed yet?"

 _"Now that I think about it, yeah. I always thought that you two would be the first to get married, but Honey-sempai beat all of us there. Now it seems like you two will be the last to get married. Well, other than Hikaru. . . But yeah, the way Tamaki dotes on you, you would think he would've popped the question years ago just to make sure no one else can even think about taking you from him. It's strange that he hasn't yet."_ He paused and took a moment to think before adding a bit of advice on the tail end of his thoughts.  _" But who knows . . . Maybe he's waiting for the right moment. I know it seems delayed as hell, but I doubt he's going to pass up the opportunity to marry you, Haruhi. Everyone know's how much he's in love with you."_

Tamaki finally calmed down and decided to join his love in the kitchen once more to continue the conversation with the younger Hitachiin. But he stopped when he reached the kitchen, overhearing something he wasn't quite sure how to feel about. 

"I mean I really do love him. If I didn't, I wouldn't have stayed with him this long. But this is starting to really bother me. It's starting to make me wonder if he really wants to stay in this relationship. . ."

His heart dropped at that last statement. _"Of course I want to be in this relationship. I love my Haruhi more than anything. What on Earth could make her think otherwise?"_

The blond hear some chatter come from the cell phone and then he heard the brunette speak once more.

"Thanks Kaoru. I hope you're right. And sorry for making this conversation about Tamaki and me. I _am_ really happy for you and I'm absolutely positive that no matter how you ask her, Natalia will say yes. Just be yourself and tell her what you just told me. You'll be fine. And don't hesitate to text me if you need some last minute reassurance. I'm sure she'll say yes. Alright, see ya Kaoru. Good luck."

He stood in the doorway still shocked from what he had just heard. " _It's starting to make me wonder if he really wants to stay in this relationship. . ."_

Haruhi put her phone away and turned around to see her love standing in the doorway, looking like he'd just seen a ghost.

She smiled at him and laughed a bit, "So I guess you were right about the letter. He was just calling to ask some advice on how to propose. I did the best I could since you ran upstairs for the time being. But- What's with that crazy look on your face? It looks like you just saw someone's ghost or something."

He looked up from the floor and into Haruhi's full, chestnut eyes that he loved so much. Even though his heart was momentarily broken again, he could feel it swell with love and adoration for Haruhi and her beauty. Nothing could make him feel more at home and comfortable than the brilliant sparkle of determination in his love's eyes. He was so distracted by his heartbreak and love for Haruhi that he didn't notice his own violet eyes begin to swell with tears. "Haruhi. Do you really think . . . that- that I don't want to stay in this relationship?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More author's notes :
> 
> Alright so chapter one always has set up and last minute drama. It's just a must for me. Please review! I would love to see what you think! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. I haven't written fanfic in a while so I'm a bit rusty.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy! Until next time - Chapter 2: Confessions? (yes the question mark is completely intended)


	2. Confessions?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's notes: 
> 
> Wooo! Time for chapter 2. I know this happened really quickly but I really had to get this chapter written. I was so excited about this one because we finally get to see what happened to Hikaru. I was really excited about writing Hikaru like this because it's a strong headcanon of mine that once Kaoru found a girl, he felt like Kaoru abandoned him and regressed to shutting everyone out again! I'll let you read to find out just how bad he's gotten, but I hope you enjoy! (Hikaru may seem a bit OOC but I think it works.)
> 
> Enjoy the angst!

_"Haruhi. Do you really think . . . that- that I don't want to stay in this relationship?"_

" _Crap!"_ She thought. " _He actually heard what I was talking about. . . Well, at least now we can finally talk about this."_

"Tamaki–"

Haruhi couldn't bring herself to sort out an excuse in her head. The look of pure hurt that had washed over Tamaki's face erased any previous thoughts she had. Sure, Tamaki was a melodramatic drama queen that didn't understand normal human emotion, but something about how hurt he looked broke Haruhi's heart. This was not what she wanted to happen today - in fact it was the exact opposite of what she intended on happening. 

"Tamaki . . . I love you I really do." She paused to try and figure out how to word her thoughts without ruining everything. "It's just that . . . We've been together for what –"

"Nine years," he stated abruptly.

Shaking Tamaki's interruption off, Haruhi sighed and shook her head. "- Yeah. Nine years now. Don't you think that's a bit long to be dating someone?"

Tamaki looked as if he had just been shot. The color was washed from his faced as he stumbled over consonants and vowels to form some semblance of a response. "Do you – Are – Are you saying that we should break up? After all this time? B-but Haruhi! I love you!" He ran forward and wrapped his arms around her waist as if he were a child begging his mother for toys.

"Wha- Tamaki! No, that's not it at! I don't want to break up with you! I love you too, like I already said." Haruhi, still shocked by Tamaki's bizarre conclusion, peeled him off of her waist and gripped his shoulders to try and calm him down. "Of course I want to stay with you. I promise I love you just as much as you love me, if not more. But . . . I don't know . . . I just feel like _maybe_. . . we've been _just dating_ for a little longer than normal. I mean nine years is a long time to be dating someone."

He looked back at her, his face still red from hysterically crying. "W-what do you mean then? I don't understand . . ."

Haruhi let out a long sigh before she spoke again. "Tamaki . . . What I'm trying to say is . . . Well, what I mean is . . ." She balled up her fists by her side and looked straight up at Tamaki, as a bright blush crept across her cheeks, and shouted, "Why aren't we married yet?!"

 _Wait. What . ._. Tamaki barely had the mental baring to dissect what his girlfriend had just asked him. The only thing he could do was go silent and still while he tried to figure Haruhi's question out. When he finally realized what she said he stared at the floor and started blushing profusely as well. "Well uh . . . That's a really good question . . . Uh- well . . . See the thing is . . ." He turned around swiftly and started walking out of the kitchen. "OH! I think I just heard my phone start ringing. It's probably Kyoya. Or maybe Kaoru decided to give me a call. I mean it didn't sound like you gave him much advice, so maybe I can help! Who knows, it could even be Hikaru?! Maybe he decided to clean up his act after all!"

"TAMAKI SUOH, DON'T YOU DARE!" Haruhi was fuming now. " _How the hell could he expect to get out of this conversation?"_ She walked over to the kitchen doorway where Tamaki froze in place and dragged him back into the kitchen by the collar of his shirt. Once she had him sitting on one of the bar stools, Haruhi sat down next to him and crossed her arms as she continued speaking. "This is really important to me! It's been bothering me for years now, Tamaki, and I think it's about time we actually talked about this. I mean, everyone expected us to be the first to get married, and honestly so did I. But now it seems like even Hikaru will get married before us! So it isn't that I don't want to be in this relationship. I still love you very much and would give anything to spend the rest of my life with you . . . but I can't help but think that the reason we still aren't even engaged is because you don't really want to be in this relationship. This may sound crazy, especially coming from me, but this is so uncharacteristic of you. You do want to stay in this relationship, right?"

He calmly looked up from his lap and moved to pull Haruhi into a tight embrace. Kissing the top of her head, Tamaki responded in a voice almost soft enough to be a whisper. "I love you Haruhi, okay? Some things just take time." He kissed her head again and pulled out of the embrace to walk upstairs, leaving Haruhi in a stunned silence behind him.

Before she could even begin to process what had just happened, Tamaki was upstairs letting their bedroom door fall closed with a soft click behind him. "Tamaki . . . Wha – What the hell was that?" Haruhi stood there in complete shock and confusion about what just happened. When she snapped back in to reality, anger took over her mind. _"What the hell kind of answer was that!? Nine years putting up with his shit and this is what I get!?"_

She stormed out of the kitchen and walked to the coat rack by the front door. "I'm going out. I'll come back when nine years of dating actually means something to you!" She knew she sounded ridiculous. She knew she was overreacting. She absolutely knew that Tamaki still loved her and wanted to marry her . . . But something about the way Tamaki responded made her furious. She, at the very least, just needed some air. Some time to cool down. So Haruhi grabbed her coat off of the rack near the door and slammed the door behind her on her way out.

Tamaki sat at the edge of his and Haruhi's shared bed with his head in his hands as he heard Haruhi storm out of the house. "I _knew I should have asked her earlier . . .Look what you've done, Tamaki. You've pissed off the best thing that has ever happened to you"_

* * *

* _Knock-knock-knock*_

The dull knock was deafening on his ears, and the light felt blinding as he cracked open his eyes. He groaned as he pulled himself off of his couch to answer his door, which itself was a miracle because everyone knew that he barely ever answered his door anymore. _"Who the hell could be coming here at this hour?"_

He then looked at his clock on the wall and sighed. It was already six at night. . . of the next day. Internally cursing the fact that he blacked out and then passed out at around the same time the day before, he stumbled to his front door as his head pounded from yet another hangover. He should honestly be used to them by now. When he got to the door he opened it with his free hand over his eyes to help relieve the pain. "What."

The woman at the door sighed in response and gave him a sad smile. "Hey Hikaru . . . It's been a while."

He knew that voice. He could never forget it. It was the voice of the only person that was ever able to tell him apart from his twin. The only person he'd ever been in love with . . . _the one that got away_ so to speak. He took his hand from his now widened eyes and looked down at the short brunette. Just seeing her brought him so much happiness but so much pain at the same time. He did his best to shut everyone out, and now here she was . . . The one person who knew how to break down his walls. "Haruhi? What are you doing here?"

Shrugging, Haruhi wrapped her arms around herself more, closing herself off. She spoke softly to her friend as he stared at her with wide eyes and a straight face. "I just thought I'd stop by. You know . . . To talk. We haven't talked in a while. Can I come in?"

The older twin backed away from the door to let his friend in. It is true that she had been able to tell them apart in high school, but now anyone could tell the Hitachiin twins apart. Kaoru was living his life to the fullest and looked even happier than he ever did in the host club. His hair was pretty much the same; he'd really just gotten a little taller and older, his face filled out with masculine angles. Hikaru, on the other hand, was a mess. He didn't bother to part his hair unless he was going somewhere important, which he rarely did. He tended to always have a five o-clock shadow, though it was still barely visible because facial hair was not something that came naturally to the Hitachiin family. . . and he always looked sad. He looked as if something had broken deep inside of him, and it was beyond repair. It was surprising that he was able to maintain his extravagant lifestyle and a clean-cut and high end fashion sense. He barely looked like he had the energy to answer the front door . . . 

Haruhi walked in to her friend's modern penthouse which of course had a view of the city. When she walked in, though, she noticed something. "Hikaru . . . This place is a mess. Doesn't your maid do anything?" She wasn't too fond of the fact that many of her friends still had servants, and was especially angry when Tamaki tried to insist that they have a maid of their own. She shot that idea down without second thought. But she just accepted the fact that it was just the way life was for aristocrats like them.

Hikaru walked into the living area where Haruhi was standing and started to throw away some of the trash. "I fired her. Growing up, Kaoru and I – " he paused for a moment after stating his brother's name. " – We got bored easily. So when we got bored with it, we dropped it and moved on to something else. She started boring me, so I thought I would try something else . . . well . . . I'm also not used to having the same staff for more than a few weeks at time . . ."

The brunette took the trash from Hikaru and threw the rest away. "I find that hard to believe, Hikaru. You may get bored very easily, but I know you would never fire a maid for that reason alone. Why did you really fire her?"

He walked into the open kitchen area and rummaged through the fridge. "You were always able to see right through me Haruhi . . . She kept trying to 'help me.' I told her time and time again that I don't need any help."

When he closed the fridge, he had a bottle in his hand. At the sight of this, Haruhi let out a sad sigh. "Look, Hikaru. We all know that she was right. You can't keep acting like this just because Kaoru is finally able to enjoy his life on his own." She took the bottle from him and poured it out in the sink. "You can't keep pretending that this is his fault. You're pushing everyone away again, and that's just wrong . . . You're hurting yourself and all your friends, Hikaru."

"What kind of friends are you if you just abandon me like this!?" he shouted as Haruhi turned back to him. "I was okay with it when you left because we all knew there was no way of separating you and Tamaki. But then he left too! My own brother! He just left me here like nothing was wrong! What kind of friends would do that!?"

Haruhi took a deep breath and shook her head. "Kaoru is happy living his life with the woman he loves! Maybe if you answered your damn phone every once and a while, you'll see that we still care about you! Kaoru told me he's been trying to call you but you won't answer. . . He's trying to make sure you're okay. I bet you didn't even know that he's gonna propose to Nat soon . . ."

He cringed at the sound of her name. _"That bitch . . . How could she just take Kaoru away from me like that? Who does she think she is?"_ Turning back to Haruhi, Hikaru sighed and did his best to keep his anger hidden. "Why the hell are you even here? Is this just some kind of cruel intervention?" He mumbled through his teeth.

Haruhi sighed to calm herself down. "Actually, I didn't come to lecture you this time."

Hikaru looked at her in confusion. "Well then why are you here?" His anger was still boiling beneath the surface as he spoke to his friend, but look on Haruhi's face wasn't necessarily reassuring. He couldn't help but push his anger aside enough to figure out what was going on. "Did something happen?"

Haruhi ran her hand through her hair and walked in to the living room to sit on the couch. "Well . . . Kinda." Hikaru came and sat next to her on the couch. He was actually a bit worried. Haruhi rarely ever acted like this.

"Tamaki and I . . . We kinda got into a fight."

The older twin narrowed his eyes and began to stand up. "I'm gonna kick his ass. What the hell did he do?!"

"Hikaru, calm down." She pulled him back down on to the couch. "It wasn't so much a fight as it was I asked him a question and he avoided the answer. He gave me this bullshit response and it pissed me off. So I stormed out, and now I'm here."

"Well, what did you ask him? Has he been cheating on you?! I'm really gonna kick his ass now!"

She forced him to sit again. "No no. Nothing like that. I just – I asked him why the two of us weren't married yet . . ."

"Oh . . ." He frowned slightly, remembering that he was still a bit upset that Haruhi was with Tamaki.

"And he just said 'I love you, okay? Some things just take time.' And then he just walked upstairs like nothing happened. And after that I didn't know what to do but come here. And because I had a favor to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Do you think I can spend the night here? I'm not ready to talk to Tamaki again tonight. "

Hikaru's eyes grew wide. That wasn't what he expected her to ask. "Yeah, sure of course!"

"Thanks so much Hikaru. But one thing, no drinking tonight. You have to promise me that you won't even have a sip of alcohol."

Hikaru chuckled, "Yeah sure. I promise."

"Good." Haruhi smiled at her friend and laughed a bit. She didn't think she would ever end up spending the night at Hikaru's after he started acting this way.

She started to get up to take off her coat and get settled. "How about we clean up – "

She was interrupted by a loud boom.

Haruhi froze in her place and started to shake ever-so-slightly. "What that what I think it was, Hikaru?"

"Dammit, why now?!" Hikaru got up and walked to the window to look outside. He then turned back and started walking towards his room. "Yep. It's another storm. I'll go get my headphones. Just sit back down on the couch okay?"

She whimpered and curled up into a ball on the couch. At the next crash of thunder, she pulled her knees close to her face and cried out in a half whisper, "Tamaki – "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's notes:
> 
> Alrighty! I love to play with the fact that haruhi is scared of thunderstorms. It's so adorable and I don't want her to ever grow out of it. But I do want to say that she said Tamaki because he easily calms her down because of experience from living together for so long. Agh don't you just love them! Woo!
> 
> So, until next time.
> 
> Chapter 3 - (i have no clue yet ha!)
> 
> please review!


	3. No Rights, Just Wrongs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so the author's notes for this chapter explain a little bit so actually read them (no matter how childish or ridiculous I sound) Some of the notes throughout the fic actually help explain my mindset and give reasons for why I did something that people may see as unnecessary or out of character. Thanks!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note:   
> first off I feel like I should say this since I haven't yet, I DO NOT OWN ANY RIGHTS TO OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB. NEITHER THE STORY NOR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS BELONG TO ME! *disclaimer*
> 
> Alrighty readers! chapter 3 is upon us. I don't know when chapter 4 is going to happen. It should happen within the next few days though (a week being the latest). I just had this chapter in my head so I decided to put it down! So hear's a very angsty and dramatic treat for you guys!
> 
> Hikaru may at some points seem very OOC but i just took the fact that he can be a brat about people "abandoning him" and said "why not amplify that brattyness by 10000 by giving him a crapton of alcohol! yay!" So trust me on this. And it ends up not being so much brattyness but anger and resentment set off by alcohol and his bratty attitude.
> 
> So enjoy!

"Oh God, where is she?!" Not too long ago a thunderstorm started. And not too long ago, Tamaki Suoh started pacing in his bedroom.

"She hasn't even been gone for an hour and this happens!? I hope she's okay. She has to be. She's probably terrified! Oh Haruhi! Daddy will help you if you just answer your phone!" He was in full-fledged panic mode now. He had called her twice already and texted her about one hundred times, but she wasn't answering anything.

* * *

"Here, just listen to some music and relax." Hikaru handed her his headphones and pulled a blanket around her shoulders. It was just like when they went on that date in Karuizawa. He pulled her close and tried to help stop the shaking. _"This is nice. It kind of feels like high school again . . . when things were happier."_

* _Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. Bzzzz*_

Hikaru looked down at Haruhi's jacket and saw her phone light up in one of the pockets. He reached down and pulled out the phone.

Tamaki was calling her. And he was leaving a shit ton of messages to. Hikaru ignored it and put the phone on the cushion next to him.

"That bastard. It's his fault she came out here in the first place. There's no way I'm letting him ruin this right now . . ."

Haruhi was starting to calm down finally. Her eyes were closed but she was wide awake. Hikaru's arms felt warm around her. Almost as comforting as Tamaki's. It felt good in Hikaru's embrace, even if he still reeked of alcohol.

But then . . . she felt something. Hikaru's hand moved up to her cheek to wipe a tear that still remained. Haruhi looked up at the twin. If she really paid attention, she could still see the devilish boy that she once knew. His eyes, no matter how sad they looked, were the same. And he still had that smirk. That devilish grin.

"I miss you Hikaru. We all miss you . . ." She smiled and closed her eyes again leaning back against Hikaru's chest. Then she spoke softly. "Especially Kaoru."

 _"Dammit Hikaru! That was your chance. You could've kissed her!"_ He sighed and slightly tightened his embrace around Haruhi.

"No," he whispered, "I can't do that to her. And . . . I don't think I want to deal with another Tamaki hissy fit."

* _Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. Bzzzz.*_

The older twin looked to the other side of him. "Really? Again?"

Haruhi seemed to be asleep now, so he pulled a throw pillow from the end of the couch and used it to replace himself as he got up to answer her phone.

He got up slowly and took the phone into his bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind him.

"Hello?"

_"HARUHI DARLING YOU FINALLY ANSW- wait. Who is this? What have you done with my Haruhi!?"_

"Will you stop shouting?! Jeez, I may be a wreck to you guys but I can still hear perfectly fine!" He momentarily pulled the phone away from his ear to try to make sure it was still functioning properly.

 _"Wh- who – Oh my God! Is this Hikaru?!"_ Tamaki shouted in pure disbelief.

"I'm kind of hurt that you didn't recognize my voice, Tamaki. We have known each other for quite some time." His voice had a tinge of annoyance to it as he talked to his former 'boss.'

 _"I knew you. I don't know you now. None of us do."_ Tamaki's tone changed abruptly. He now seemed angry because he was talking to Hikaru. " _What the hell are you doing with Haruhi's phone?"_

Hikaru didn't feel like dealing with Tamaki getting angry with him so he just cut to the chase. "Well, she came to my place because she was pissed at the answer you gave to the "why aren't we married" thing. And then she asked to spend the night because she didn't want to talk to you tonight. And now she is asleep, I think, on my couch. I gave her my headphones to block out the storm."

A sharp gasp was heard on the other line. _"She came to you?! And told YOU what happened? She got stuck at your house during a storm because of me?"_

"Yep, that sounds about right. Now if you're done, I'm gonna go now to check on Haruhi. I'll do everything to show her that I care, unlike you."

And with that, Hikaru hung up the phone and walked back in to the living area. Sure enough, Haruhi was fast asleep on his couch. He walked over to her and started to pick her up when her eyes slowly opened.

"Hikaru-" she yawned as she regained consciousness. "- Where are you taking me?"

"You don't need to worry, Haruhi. I'm here. I'll keep you safe. I'm just taking you to my bed."

Haruhi's eyes grew wide, causing Hikaru to chuckle. "No, don't worry. I'm just putting you there so you can rest. It'll keep you calm during this storm."

The brunette smiled faintly as she started to fall back to sleep. Hikaru put her in bed and tucked her in, ironically, like a father would. He took the spot next to her, but on top of the covers, to make sure she was calm.

The auburn haired boy (well now he was a man, and he looked like it too) pulled Haruhi close and began to doze of as well.

* * *

* _KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*_

Hikaru's eyes shot open at the sound of obnoxious banging at his door. He sat up and looked at the clock. Not even thirty minutes had passed since he fell asleep.

Haruhi woke with a start as well. "What the hell was that?" The music must've stopped playing on the headphones. Otherwise, Haruhi wouldn't have been able to hear that.

Hikaru got off the bed and yawned. "I guess someone's at the door . . . It's probably Tamaki."

"What? Why would he be here? He doesn't know I'm here." Haruhi sat up and got out of bed.

"Yeah he does. He called while you were sleeping and I answered . . ." Hikaru left the room and went to the door.

He opened the door to see a drenched and fuming Tamaki. "Well look who it is. Long time no see, boss." Hikaru smirked at the taller man who was out of breath from knocking on the door for ten minutes straight.

Tamaki scrunched his nose and glared at Hikaru. "You smell like you bathed in booze." He then pushed passed the twin and started looking around the main part of the penthouse. "Where the hell is she? What did you do to her? If you so much as laid a finger on her I'll –"

"She's in my room, dumbass. I told you she fell asleep. So I brought her in to my room." Hikaru interrupted Tamaki's panicked threat and pointed towards his bedroom door.

The blond ran over to the door and quickly opened it. In front of him was Haruhi, bundled up in Hikaru's bed and staring out the window.

"Haruhi" he whispered as he walked over to her.

She sat up and took the headphones off. Once she was sitting up, Tamaki sat in front of her and pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry Haruhi. I didn't mean to make you upset."

Hikaru was standing in the doorway now.

Haruhi didn't hug Tamaki back. "But you did." With that statement, Tamaki slowly pulled away and looked questioningly at his lover.

She looked up at him with anger in her eyes. The anger was quickly replaced by sadness as she began to speak." Just saying sorry isn't going to fix the fact that you brushed my feelings off as if they meant nothing to you. Like I said, this is important to me. And I'm not going to just accept that bullshit response you gave me."

"She does have a point. You did give her a pretty lame-ass response. And a response like that coming from you is almost unheard of." Hikaru interjected casually from behind.

Tamaki shot a death glare at the twin to shut him up. "She wasn't talking to _you_ Hikaru."

"Haruhi, can we go home and talk about it. I really don't want to talk about this in front of _him_."

Hikaru laughed and walked out of the room. "You wound me, Tamaki." He then walked into the kitchen and pulled a beer out of the fridge.

Haruhi heard what he did and followed him into the kitchen. "Hikaru, you said you wouldn't drink tonight!"

"Sorry, Haruhi. It seems like our deal is off since your knight in shining armor came to save you from the devilish villain. And I probably would've had some once you were really asleep anyways." He smiled sadly and began to chug the drink.

Tamaki was now standing just outside the kitchen. "Haruhi, come on. Let's go home. He's hopeless. There's nothing you can do to help him."

Hikaru was already on his third bottle by the time Tamaki finished talking. "Aw come on, boss! I thought we were friends. How could you be so cruel?" There was a slight slur in the way he spoke now. Four drinks in his system. "Don't we all have our fair share of problems, anyways? I mean at least I'm not a pretentious ass-hole that won't give his girlfriend of NINE. FUCKING. YEARS. a straight answer about marriage. Really. What kind of prince does that to such a beautiful princess." Hikaru made his way to Haruhi and smirked while brushing her hair behind her ear.

"Hikaru, stop it." Haruhi pushed his hand away. "You're getting drunk again, and it's pissing me off . . ."

Tamaki was in a complete rage. "Don't touch her you creep. If you ever try to touch her again, I swear I will put you in the hospital for the rest of your life."

Hikaru chuckled. Five drinks now. He had moved on from beer and started drinking liquor straight from the bottle. It seemed as if the angrier he got, the more he drank. "That doesn't sound very princely, Tamaki."

"Haruhi we're leaving." Tamaki pulled at Haruhi's wrist, but she didn't budge.

"Wait, Tamaki." She pulled away from his grip and walked over to Hikaru, who was now fuming almost as bad as Tamaki. "Why are you doing this Hikaru?"

He looked away from her, but she tilted his chin back towards her. "We all used to be so happy. Everything was great. Why won't you let yourself get better and be happy for all of us?"

This sent him over. "Because I'm not!" he snapped. "Why the hell should I pretend to be happy that everyone else has their lives made, but not me?! I hate this! I hate all of this! I hate all of you! Especially you and Kaoru! You two were always there for me. How could you just leave and expect me to be okay with it!?"

He was now towering over Haruhi and gripping her shoulders as he yelled. Tamaki rushed over and shoved Hikaru off of Haruhi.

"She did absolutely nothing wrong, Hikaru! Don't blame your problems on her! The only person to blame for the way you are now is YOU!" Tamaki now had Hikaru pinned against the wall.

Hikaru pushed Tamaki off of him and shouted back, "You stay out of this Suoh! We used to be friends! You showed me what it felt like to open up to other people! I did it and as soon as I find someone I'm able to talk to besides Kaoru, you take her away!"

"WILL YOU TWO STOP IT?!" Haruhi slapped them both in the face and pulled them as far apart as possible. "Both of you shut the hell up, right now! Hikaru, you have no right to say that Tamaki stole me from you. I'm not some toy, whether you like it or not. Tamaki, you have no right to threaten him like that. Yes he may have changed but he is still our friend. Our family. We shouldn't be treating each other like this. So could both of you stop being ass-holes for just five minutes."

~Silence struck for what seemed like forever. After an imagined eternity, Hikaru spoke up.~

"I think you two should leave now," he mumbled.

Haruhi and Tamaki didn't hear what he said, so they glanced at each other, confused. "What, Hikaru?" Haruhi questioned.

"I said get out." He snapped quietly. Without letting them leave before him, he grabbed the bottle off the counter and went to his room, slamming the door behind him.

Haruhi sighed sadly and started walking out the door after grabbing her coat from the couch.

She looked back at Tamaki, who had just begun following her out. "I'm not done with you. We'll talk more once we get home."

Tamaki sighed and cursed under his breath as he followed Haruhi out of Hikaru's penthouse. "This night just keeps getting better . . ."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: 
> 
> aaand there ya have it! Lots of angst and drama and swearing and hurt and heartbreak and UGH I JUST LOVE WRITING THIS KIND OF STUFF!
> 
> Especially writing Hikaru like this. I mean he is an adult now. He's like 25-26 so he had to take up something new when he was bored with JUST pouting!
> 
> And don't expect me to stop the angst there.
> 
> Also, like i said I have no idea what all is going to be in chapter four or how many chapters this lovely fic will have. I might end up writing some slight lemon. Probably not though. But dont expect another chapter tomorrow. You might get one, you might not. Thanks much!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Please review.


	4. About Damn Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A N : 
> 
> OKay so I was informed that Honey was the first of the hosts to get married. Oops. He ends up marrying Reiko so yeah. And apparently Tamaki and Haruhi are seen married already while still in college. So there ya have it. THAT BEING SAID, I'm not changing a damn thing in my story. Well I'll probably go back and change Kyoya to Honey. But that's it. I like how it's going and I can do whatever I want yay! That's the power of fanfiction. Anyways, call this an AU if you must because the only thing from the omake that I'm making set in stone is that in this story as well, Tamaki and Haruhi will be the first to have children. And yeah I guess I'll add Reiko to haha. Thanks poisoned lullaby for informing me of this!
> 
> *kay I'm done now*
> 
> Alright. SO you guys are lucky. I finished chapter four sooner than I thought. This has some angst at the beginning but not as much as chapter three. This chapter is mainly fluff. And the title pretty much says it all.
> 
> So now that I'm done talking,
> 
> enjoy the lovely Tamaharu fluff that i stayed up late writing for you lovely readers.

The storm had finally stopped by the time they got home. They walked up to the front door and Haruhi angrily unlocked and opened it.

"Haruhi . . . Don't you think you should maybe calm down a bit? You were even completely silent the entire ride home."

She death-glared Tamaki and then finally opened the door. Once inside, Haruhi threw her keys on the bookshelf in the foyer. Once she heard Tamaki close the door behind him she turned around in one swift motion.

"H-haruhi? Are you alright?" The blond was utterly terrified by the look his girlfriend just gave him.

"Am I alright? I'm absolutely wonderful! I've been dating the same guy for nine years and he still hasn't proposed, my best friend is a depressed alcoholic, and to top it all off, my best friend and boyfriend nearly killed each other tonight! So yeah, I'm FANTASTIC!"

Haruhi was out of breath by the time she finished her rant. And now Tamaki looked like a frightened puppy.

"I . . . don't know what to say, Haruhi." He was completely at a loss for words.

"You know what you can say? Admit you messed up. First you pissed me off at home and then you show up at Hikaru's house when everything was going perfectly fine! Just admit that you screwed it up this time. No one but you!"

". . . Fine. I screwed up okay. I'm sorry for always worrying about you. I'm sorry that I was afraid Hikaru was going to get drunk and hurt you. I'm sorry for caring about the one I love!"

"Isn't that what got us in to this mess in the first place? Me wondering if you really loved me? Because everyone knows that if this, whatever THIS is, is love, then we would've sealed the deal years ago. But that's not the case, is it?"

"Haruhi that's not fair-"

"I don't think you really know what fair is, Tamaki." She turned around and headed towards the stairs. "I don't want to deal with this anymore. I'm going to bed . . ."

"But Haruhi – " It was too late. She was already halfway up the stairs.

* * *

Haruhi woke up the next morning expecting to see a mess of blond hair next to her, but what shocked to see she was wrong. It didn't take her more than a moment to remember why.

She walked downstairs to find Tamaki, fast asleep and halfway fallen off the couch. She giggled and walked over to him. She really couldn't stay mad. All she really needed was time to cool off. Once she reached him, she sat down in front of the couch, pulling Tamaki's arm around her shoulders.

Tamaki slowly began to wake up. He saw his arm wrapped around Haruhi and smiled. The blond then leaned forward and kissed the brunette lightly on the lips. "So does this mean you're not mad anymore?"

"Well . . . I'm still upset. But I'm not angry anymore. I really just needed some time to cool off. But that doesn't change how I feel about this situation."

"I know. And I'm sorry I just pushed your feelings aside like that." Tamaki stood up, still in his clothes from the day before. "Here." He grabbed her hand to help her off the floor. "Let me make it up to you. Why don't we go somewhere nice for brunch?"

Haruhi stood and straightened out her pajamas. "Well . . . What about something a little simpler? Like . . . How about a day in the city? We could g cute little café and do some light shopping."

Tamaki kissed her hand and smiled at her. "As you wish."

* * *

"This is not what I meant by light shopping," Haruhi murmured while holding several large bags, all from different boutiques.

Tamaki chuckled. "Oh, where are my manors?" He took the bags from his girlfriend and kissed her on the cheek. "You shouldn't have to carry all of this."

"Thanks Tamaki, but can we be done with all this shopping now? I'm getting kind of tired and our couch seems more and more comfortable as the day goes on."

The blond man smiled at his short brunette lover. "Of course! But we have one more shop that I want to visit first. It's one that has become very important to me over the years but I've never been able to visit it. And I wanted to make sure that I visit it with you!"

Haruhi shrugged and followed Tamaki. "That sounds kinda weird, but alright. If it's that important to you."

Eventually they reached a two story corner shop. The sign on the front was faded so she couldn't quite make out the name. "I've never seen this place before. What kind of boutique is this?"

Tamaki said simply, "You'll see," and he opened the door to the shop.

The entire first floor was covered in antique gems and stones used to decorate royal households. "Tamaki, I really don't think we need this kind of furniture in our house. It's a bit much don't you think."

"I'm not really interested in anything on this floor. I came to this shop for what's on the second story." He stated this oh-so-casually as he began to walk up the small staircase that lead to the second floor.

Haruhi's hands immediately flew to her mouth. She looked around her as she entered the second floor. The huge room was glittering with jewelry. More jewelry than anyone could ever imagine. But what she saw the most of wasn't diamond necklaces or golden bracelets.

"Tamaki . . ."

What she saw that most of was –

"W-what is all this?"

Rings. More rings than she ever thought possible.

"You did have a valid point. Nine years is more than enough time to figure out if you want to spend the rest of your life with a person."

Haruhi just stared at him in utter amazement. After all this time, after these nine long years, it turns out that he actually did share the same feelings she did.

"It seems like you're the one who doesn't know what to say this time." He laughed and took Haruhi's hand. "I've been coming here for years now. Trying to find the perfect ring. Soon after I started coming here, I learned that they take personal requests. I didn't know what to make for you. So I waited. When I finally knew, I was too nervous you'd end up rejecting me, so I didn't come here for a while. But about two months ago, right before your birthday, I finally found the courage to come back. I knew exactly what the ring should look like, so I ordered it."

"Tamaki. You know you didn't have to go through all that trouble, for me. I'm not some high maintenance aristocrat. Any ring here would have been fine with me. They're all so beautiful."

"But it wouldn't have been fine with me. True they are all beautiful, but I wanted one that was as beautiful as you. And they just didn't have what I was looking for. To me, Haruhi, you are worth more than all of these rings put together. You're priceless."

He walked her over to the check-out counter and smiled at the clerk. "Hi. I'm here to pick up a customized ring. For Suoh." The obviously new employee blushed when Tamaki spoke to her.

"Yes. Of course. Right away, Mr. Suoh." Moments later she appeared at the counter with a small black box in her hand. "It says that paid in full when it was first ordered, so here you go. Have a nice day!"

"Thank you very much, princess." He never seemed to let go of old ways. This made Haruhi stifle a laugh. It reminded her of high school with everyone.

The young clerk giggled and blushed again before returning to the back room.

Tamaki then turned back to Haruhi and laughed. "Some habits never die. Anyways, I designed this for you a few months ago. The idea came from when we first met. When you first came to the host club." He then got down on one knee as his face turned scarlet. He held the box in front of him and spoke as clearly as possible.

_"Haruhi Fujioka. You are the most beautiful person in the entire world. Inside and out. I know I was oblivious to it at first, but I was in love with you from the very start. You are beautiful, intelligent, strong willed. . . You are everything I could ever wish to be. I know it's taken a long time for me to say this and I really have started rambling now – "_

Haruhi suddenly started laughing. "Oh Tamaki, you're too much, really!" Her laughing faded as she knelt down with him.

"Wh- what are you doing, Haruhi?" Though it seemed impossible, Tamaki's shade became an even deeper red.

Haruhi took the box from Tamaki's hand and opened it, revealing a small shining ring. Placed in the center was a beautiful rose carved out of silver and diamonds. It did remind her of her first time at the host club. Those morons seemed to be obsessed with roses. She loved it.

She then took the ring out and placed it on her left ring finger. The brunette looked back up at her lover and took his face in both of her hands.

"You're such an idiot." She smiled and kissed him. "Of course I'll marry you."

He smiled and pulled her into another kiss. Once they finally broke apart, Tamaki finally spoke again.

"It's funny how I always know what to say to everyone else, but not you. You seem to have broken the prince's armor, Haruhi."

The two shared a small kiss once more and then just sat with their noses touching. Haruhi chuckled and whispered to her new fiancé,

"It's about damn time . . ."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A N : 
> 
> Ah! Shameless fluff! Don't you just love it. And I do have to agree with the lovely Haruhi in this one and say IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!
> 
> I just love these two so much. Even during the angst, I can't help but smile like a giddy child while writing this.
> 
> Well until next time loves!
> 
> Chapter five - (again I have no idea)
> 
> also i have no clue when five will be published because i dont have any ideas at the moment for it. so if you want to suggest ideas that would be wonderful. i might not (and sadly most likely wont) use your ideas but it will help my creative juices flowing.
> 
> who knows your ideas might inspire another 3 chapters in one day kind of thing!
> 
> please review!
> 
> au revoir loves!


	5. Endless Phone Calls - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I've decided to make this a two part chapter called "Endless Phone Calls." I chose that title for obvious reasons. But yeah. I probably won't have part two up until some time wednesday because my friend is coming over tomorrow so I won't be doing much writing. But anyways, please enjoy this chapter. Thanks for the kind reviews so far! Please keep reviewing!

Part 1 - Spread it Like Wildfire

" . . . Hmmm . So the defense was – Ahh. That makes sense now. There is no way that –"Haruhi mumbled to herself about her work as she sat at her desk.

* _Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz*_

"Huh? Who's calling me now?" She had been getting hundreds of calls all week long. Some of them were from work, but most of them were from Tamaki. Haruhi's fiancé was in France to visit his mother. She had begun to get sick again, so Tamaki wanted to make sure she was alright, and pay her a visit.

He wanted Haruhi to join him, but she couldn't get the time off from work, especially after getting such a huge new case. So, he went to France for the week, on his own.

All week, Tamaki has been calling his love to make sure she was doing alright. It was sweet at first, but it just became annoying after about the third day. But this time, it couldn't possibly be him. He had just gotten on a flight back to Boston a few hours ago. And it hadn't been six hours yet so he couldn't have arrived yet.

"Wha-? That's weird . . . Why is dad calling me?" She very rarely spoke on the phone to her father. Usually whenever he wanted to talk, he just texted her. So this must've been important.

"Hey Dad. What's up?"

" _Haruhi Fujioka! Why is it that I found out about your engagement to that fool Tamaki from the fool himself and NOT MY OWN DAUGHTER?!"_

"What?! We agreed we wouldn't start spreading the word until we had some of the wedding planned! That way we could answer the stereotypical questions that we knew everyone would ask. . ."

_"So you were meaning to hide it from me?! Haruhi, how could you be so cruel to your own father!?"_

"Dad, come on now. I wasn't trying to hide it from anyone. Especially not you. I just wanted to avoid the endless phone calls for a little bit. And shouldn't you have known already? He did ask for your blessing, right?"

_"Oh that. He did that years ago. I said yes, of course. I was just hoping that when the time came for him to finally ask you, you would turn him down."_

"That's not very nice, Dad. Anyways, we don't really have any plans yet, so all I can really tell you is that yes we are engaged. I promise I will let you know more details once we figure them out, okay?"

". . . _Alright, alright. I'll let you go now. Just remember, Haruhi, if that dope ever hurts you in any way, I'm still here for you. I love you very much."_

"Thanks, Dad. I love you too. Bye."

She hung up the phone and took a deep breath. _"How could he just go and tell my dad without telling me?"_

Tamaki was in for it when he got home.

* * *

"I'm hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooommme! You're loving fiancé has returned, my dear princess." Tamaki sang his words from the foyer as he took of his coat. He walked forward towards the stairs when he saw his darling standing at the bottom of said steps. . . With her arms crossed.

"Oh darling, Haruhi! I can't tell you how happy I am to be back here with you." He pulled her into a tight embrace. "Seeing mother was wonderful, of course. But the whole time I was there, I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Yeah. I know. You called me five times every day." The brunette hadn't hugged him back. Her arms were still crossed in anger.

The blond released the embrace and looked questioningly at Haruhi. "Did you not like that I checked in with you often? I was just making sure you were alright without me."

"I was fine without you before we got together, so I was fine now too. Your little check-ups actually became quite tiresome." More and more irritation coated her voice as she spoke.

At the word "tiresome," Tamaki gasped dramatically and went to pout in the corner.

"Would you stop pouting like a child?! I'm not in the mood for this right now." She was getting very angry now.

He turned back to her and noticed how upset she actually was. Tamaki then got up and went back to her. "What's bothering you, Haruhi? Tell me, let me help."

"My dad called me," she stated plainly.

A guilty blush crept across the blond's face. "On second thought, I really should start unpacking. I was gone for a week and-"

As he kept rambling off excuses and walking up the stairs, Haruhi sighed. It was time to pull out the big guns.

She cleared her throat and gave the cutest smile she could ever possibly give. "Tamaki darling! I'm feeling a bit faint. Would you be so kind as to carry me to bed?"

Faster than the speed of light, Tamaki bolted to his fiancée's side. His princely demeanor had taken over once more. "Of course, my princess. Anything to make sure you are always happy." He smiled and picked her up bridal style before carrying her upstairs.

When Tamaki picked her up, Haruhi giggled and thought, " _Yes! I knew this would work. Now he can't avoid this."_

Once they reached their bedroom, Tamaki gently placed Haruhi on their bed. "Here we are, princess. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Haruhi smirked. "Come lay with me." She patted the leftover space next to her. "I want you to hold me."

Tamaki blushed deep red and nodded. He then took his place next to the brunette and pulled her close.

" _Now's my chance. There's no way he's getting out of this one."_

"Tamaki?" She looked up at her lover.

"Hm?"

Her face darkened with annoyance. "Why the hell did you call my dad? You agreed that we would wait to tell anyone. And last time I checked, 'anyone' included my father."

He chuckled nervously and avoided her glare. "Well . . . He- When I asked for his blessing, which was a few years ago, might I add – "

"I know he told me."

" – Oh. Well anyways, when I asked for your father's blessing, he told me that he'd better find out as soon as it happened. And you know me; I always have to please everyone. Especially my fiancée's father. So I called him earlier this morning."

Haruhi sighed and buried her face in Tamaki's neck. "Well I guess I can't be upset with you for that. My dad has always had high standards for you anyways . . . Just don't tell anyone else, okay. Not yet. I'm not ready to be bombarded with phone calls again."

_*Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz.*_

Haruhi heard her phone go off and threw her face onto her pillow. "You've got to be kidding me. . ."

Tamaki laughed and got up from the bed. "Don't worry; I'll answer this for you." He walked over to Haruhi's phone, which was on their dresser, and looked at the caller ID.

"Oh! It's just him." He answered the phone with a smile on his face. "Hey Kyoya! What's up?"

_"Oh, Tamaki. I would've called you first, but I didn't know if you were back from France or not."_

"I just got back a little while ago, actually. So why are you calling?" Tamaki had a very cheerful tone in his voice as he talked to his best friend.

_"I was actually just calling to congratulate you and Haruhi on your engagement. I do have to say, it took a lot longer than any of us expected, but I'm still glad that it happened, nonetheless."_

"Wait. What? Who told you? . . . Don't tell me it was Ranka . . ."

_"Indeed it was, Tamaki. Well first Kaoru called me about two weeks ago telling me about the conversation he and Haruhi had. He told me she was upset that the two of you weren't married yet, so logically, I decided to give Haruhi's father a call. I told him about what I knew and he thanked me. After that, he told me he would let me know if he heard anything, and I said the same. So, here we are."_

Tamaki ran his hand over his face and sighed. "Alright. I should have expected this. Well, thank you for the call Kyoya. I'll call you back once we have more information about the wedding plans. And don't think for a second that I would choose anyone but you to be the best man!"

Kyoya laughed from the other line. " _Of course, Tamaki. Until then."_

Tamaki hung up the phone and looked over at Haruhi, who was now fuming with rage. "So you mean to tell me that because YOU told MY FATHER that we are engaged, now KYOYA knows?! Kyoya, of all people! Now-"

Tamaki sighed and face planted on their bed. He gave Haruhi a side glance and mumbled from the blanket, "Yep. Now the news is going to spread like wildfire."

Haruhi then slammed her face back against her pillow so that she and Tamaki were now in similar positions.

* _Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz_

_Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz. *_

Both of their phones began going off simultaneously.

They then looked at each other, and their anger and annoyance quickly faded to laughter. Haruhi moved down next to Tamaki and faced him. She kissed him softly on the lips. "I think these phone calls can wait until tomorrow, don't you?"

Tamaki smirked and moved so that he was hovering over Haruhi. He leaned forward and kissed her passionately. "Absolutely."

Haruhi then wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed.

"Like wildfire, huh. . ." She whispered.

She pulled him back to her so that their lips crashed together passionately, causing Tamaki to turn the shade of a ripe red tomato. Those calls could definitely wait until tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love the fact that I can do whatever I want with this story. Sorry guys! No smut/lemon from me! I tried writing that once, and it was awful soooooo yeah not gonna try that again for a very very very long time. Maybe even never again. SO instead, I troll you and make you think it will end in smut. Yay!
> 
> Anyways, if you really wanna know, yeah they frickle frackled after that last line. Which is why the phone calls waited, of course.
> 
> So, please review and join me next time for "Endless Phone Calls, Part 2: Brotherly Love"
> 
> Hahah I know what you all are thinking. You'll just have to wait and see if it's the same brotherly love we used to know.
> 
> READ AND REVIEW PLEASE AND THANK YOU!


	6. Endless Phone Calls - Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright readers, here is the second and final installment of chapter 5 - endless phone calls. It is mainly focused on Hikaru so yeah.
> 
> This was probably the hardest chapter to write, like ever. It was so difficult to make it in character and make sense. So yeah be appreciative that my friend helped me write some of this last night.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

_**Part II**_ _Brotherly love_

*Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz.* "Ugh just leave me alone . . ." *Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz.* "You know what-"

He picked up his buzzing phone and looked at it. 17 missed calls. He didn't even bother to pay attention to who was calling him. He refused to talk to anyone right now.

He pressed end to ignore the call. Moments later, it rang again.

He buried his face in his pillow and groaned. "Why can't anyone take a damn hint?" He then picked his phone up again and threw it across the room, not quite hard enough to break it, but with enough force to shut it up.

He sighed contently, "Thank you. Finally you all will leave me alone."

It didn't take even five minutes for his peaceful doldrums to be interrupted, by yet another phone call. But this time, it was from the house phone. "Dammit! I thought I got rid of that thing."

Instead of getting up, he just let it ring until it went to voicemail.

"Hey. This is Hikaru. I can't get to the phone right now, so leave a message. Bye"

The older twin hadn't put much thought into his voicemail, but he really didn't care. Once he heard a faint beep come from the phone in the living room, he expected it to be over.

Instead he heard a voice. It sounded like a small child. It was hard to recognize at first, but after a few words, he knew exactly was calling him. Once he realized who it was, he shot straight up in bed and listened carefully to what was being said.

"Hika-nii. It's your sister, Ageha. I'm on my way to your house right now. Mom and Dad made me take the jet because I'm apparently too young to travel on normal planes by myself. My flight just landed so I should be there in about 20 minutes."

And with that she hung up. She was quite dignified and intelligent for a seven year old.

As soon as the twenty-six year old realized what his younger sister had said, he swore under his breath and jumped out of bed.

"Why does she want to visit me all of a sudden? It's not like she was ever interested in being our little sister and receiving affection from us. . . So why now?"

The older twin shot out of bed and walked over to his bathroom. Once in the bathroom, he looked in the mirror and sighed. "There's no way in hell that she's seeing me like this."

Hikaru left the bathroom to grab a change of clothes before returning. He opened his closet and frowned. "Only one clean outfit left?" He pulled the clothes out and took them to the bathroom with him. "Maybe I should get a new maid . . ."

* * *

After about fifteen good minutes, Hikaru emerged from the bathroom cleanly shaven and hair parted. And even though he only had one clean outfit left, he still managed to dress in his usual high end fashion. Yet, his face looked the same as it did an hour before. Just cleaner and a bit more awake. I guess you just can't wash off that disappointing look so easily.

"Shit! I only have five minutes before she gets here." He swung his bedroom door open and looked at the mess that had accumulated in the rest of the penthouse. He groaned and began to clean up as fast as possible. "Why the hell did I fire my maid . . ."

Hikaru had the last bit of trash in his hands when he heard a knock at the door.

*Knock knock knock knock*

He swore under his breath. "That couldn't have been twenty minutes already . . ."

*Knock knock knock knock*

He threw away the last of the trash before grabbing the full bag of garbage and heading to the door.

"Hika-nii! Come on, I don't like to be kept waiting."

He placed his free hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath. He then opened the door to reveal a small girl, with shoulder length dark hair. "Come on in, Ageha." The older of the two Hitachiins smiled warmly at the younger and let her inside.

"Why did you clean all of this yourself? Don't you have a maid?" Ageha questioned as he put the bag outside of the door.

Hikaru paused for a moment before replying, "I've decided to learn the ways of commoners and clean for myself."

"You look nice today, Ageha. That's a very pretty dress you're wearing." He gave his best smile, reminiscent of his days with Kaoru and Haruhi in high school.

The small girl gave her brother a suspicious look, but quickly brushed it off and became straight-faced. "I think it's boring. It looks like something you or Kao-nii would get me." She headed to the living room while taking off her shall, and sat on the couch.

He walked back into the living area where she was now sitting, and sat next to her. "So why did you come all the way to Boston? I would've gotten you something nice if I would've known you were coming earlier."

"It probably would have been stupid. And I have been trying to call you for a few days now." She looked directly at her older brother with a blank expression. "You need to get your act together, Hika-nii. It's getting completely ridiculous."

Hikaru was completely baffled. "Wh-what?! What are you talking about?" He paused for a moment, at a loss for words. "And shouldn't you be in school right now? Didn't the semester just start?"

She sighed and crossed her hands in her lap. "I'm starting late because I'm being homeschooled. I have no interest in going to a silly academy filled with bumbling idiots like you. And mom said it might be good for you to hear this all from me. We are all tired of this regression you've gotten into, nii-san."

He clenched his fist and averted his gaze. "I still don't know what you're talking about, Ageha."

"You can't be serious, Hikaru. You and Kaoru were inseparable when I was really little. It was kind of annoying to be honest. The way you two doted on me was absurd. I thought you two were complete morons, but as it turns out, you're the only moron. At least Kaoru has his life together. You do know he's getting married, right? He proposed to Natalia-san last week,"

He was at a complete loss of words. After a minute of silence, he spoke. "Y-you know, just because I'm not getting married, doesn't mean that I don't have my life together."

The surprisingly intelligent seven year old rolled her eyes. "Nii-san, this place reeks of alcohol, you were cleaning your own house which means you fired your maid for some stupid reason, and you look like you haven't slept in days." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Oh and also, Kaoru talked to mom about it. Tama-san and Haru-san have talked about it too. They contacted mom and dad because they were worried about you. Everyone is worried about you."

Hikaru's expression darkened at the mention of Tamaki and Haruhi. "Why were you talking to them? Don't tell me you are still obsessed with that moron."

"I am not obsessed with anyone. I just happen to think that he is a wonderful and ideal person to be around. And you may think he is a moron, but he is smart enough to get help for his friends in need."

Hikaru was in a silent rage. He looked down at his feet and refused to speak. After a few moments, Ageha spoke up.

"Since I am only a child, a hotel is quite inappropriate for me to stay in on my own. So I will be staying here for the week." She stood up and brushed off her dress to straighten it again. "Kao-nii and Natalia-san are having a joint engagement celebration with Tama-san and Haru-san in two days. You and I will both be attending."

"Wait what? Tamaki and Haruhi are engaged now too?"

"Oh you didn't know? It happened just at the end of last week. I just assumed you would've heard by now."

She walked towards the door and put her hand on the knob. "I will be back in a few hours. For this week, if you so much as touch an alcoholic beverage, you will be flying back to Japan with me to live back at home under the constant surveillance of the family and our servants. You will get your act together before nii-san's wedding whether you like it or not."

"B-but – I don't think you really have that kind of authority over me, sis. You are only seven . . . "

"I may be only seven but I do know that you and Kao-nii adore me, so there is no way you will refuse to listen to me. And I seemed to be the only one in the family that was willing to tell you all of this so bluntly." She turned back towards him for a moment to speak. "You are ruining your life, Hika-nii. Your mental and physical health is in shambles because all you do is pout and drink. I always heard of how promising you twins were, but it seems that Kao-nii was the only one to live up to expectations." She took a breath and stared angrily at her brother. "You are embarrassing not only yourself but our entire family. We can't have a pouty, depressed drunk in the family, especially at your age. So, since you refuse to get your act together, I will do it for you."

Ageha turned around and walked back towards the door. Hikaru was completely silent.

As she put her hand on the doorknob, she sighed. "Nii-san. You may be annoying, but you're still my brother. I still love you. Like I said, we are all worried about you. Especially Kao-nii. We all are starting to miss the brotherly love. It seems like the only one you'll show that to, is me. And, even though I appreciate it, it needs to stop. I'm not your only sibling, and I'm definitely not the only one who cares enough to say all this." She paused and glanced back at him. "Fix it."

The young girl then opened the door and walked over to a tall body guard that had just arrived. "I will be back tonight, Hika-nii."

The door closed with a click and Hikaru was alone in silence, once again. Of all people that could say that to him, it had to be the one person he didn't want it to be. She was completely right, he absolutely adored her. Even when she was like this. He rubbed his hands over his face and fell back on the couch so that he was now lying down. Who knew seven year olds could be so demanding?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so if you are a non-manga reader, Ageha is a MANGA ONLY character. She is their actual little sister, so no I did not make that up. It says that she was born sometime during the twins college years. SO I made it so that she was born during their first year of college at the age of 19. So don't think I'm just makin all this shit up now.
> 
> But yeah, in the manga, the twins dote on her but she thinks it's completely stupid. And she has a strange obsession towards Tamaki. She even calls him "Milord."
> 
> Yes I will have her adress him as Milord soon.
> 
> But yeah that's that. I bet you weren't expecting that kind of brotherly love, right?
> 
> Please review!
> 
> Until next time!


	7. Let's Try This Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings, readers! I present you with chapter 6! (or seven if you wanna count it that way)
> 
> This chapter once again is only slight Tamaharu, sorry. I will be getting back to much more Tamaharu very very soon. Probably in the next chapter or two. I just feel like, with Tamaharu, you must have the other hosts there too.
> 
> Speaking of the other hosts, Takashi (Mori) and his wife Sofia (an OC based off of my sister because my sister absolutely LOVES Takashi) will be making an appearance soon as well as Kyoya! I have a great mini storyline set up for Kyoya (thanks to my genius sister) that I will delve into when the time comes. But for now, have some lovely awkward reunions!

He messed with his dress shirt sleeves nervously. "Do they even know that I'm coming? And even if they do, do they even want me to be there?"

She finished brushing her hair and smirked at the older of the two. "Of course they know you're coming. And yes most of them want you to be there. They do miss you after all." She turned and looked up at him. "Hika-nii. This is to help you to start getting act together. It's just a dinner party with old friends. You'll be fine."

"Wait. Most of them? What do you mean ' _most of them?'_ "

Ageha sighed and walked to the front door. "Well, Tama-san wasn't too pleased when I talked to him and Haru-san about it. Luckily Haru-san convinced him to be okay with it. He kept mentioning something about you trying to steal Haru-san from him while you were drunk a few weeks ago?"

Hikaru's face turned pink with a guilty blush.

"And then Natalia-san isn't very happy about it either. But, who can blame her. You've been nothing but awful to her since her and Kao-nii started dating."

She took a breath and continued. "Well. Never mind that. What happened, happened. Now we have to make up for your drunken mistakes. Not to mention the fact that being drunk this whole time was a mistake in itself. Now let's go. We're going to be late."

The older of the two ran his hands through his parted hair, sighed, and followed his sister out of the house.

"Well . . . Let's get this over with."

* * *

"Excuse me." The hostess looked over the stand to see a small girl calling for her.

"Oh! Yes, how may I help you?"

Ageha smiled warmly. "We are here with the Hitachiin group. Thank you."

The hostess nodded curtly. "Right this way." She lead the two to a closed off area near the back of the restaurant. As they were approaching, they could hear laughter and a girl speaking with a faint Italian accent.

"And then he tried to order his food in Italian, and yeah he got the words right but in all the wrong order!" More laughter broke out from one of the two tables.

"It was as if he were some crazy caveman! The waiter himself couldn't help but laugh at him too!"

Kaoru, with his arm around Natalia, blushed bright red as he laughed more. "Alright, I admit it. It was pretty damn funny! But it hasn't happened ever since, I swear! I mean, I do have the best Italian teacher ever." He leaned over and pecked Nat on the cheek.

"Awe, Kaoru. You're too sweet."

An unknown man groaned mockingly. "Why is there always so much cutesy crap with you two? It's like you were made for each other." The group chuckled some more. "Five years later and you're still in the honeymoon phase? This wedding is going to be so boring!"

The unknown man also had an Italian accent. His was more noticeable than Natalia's though. He had light brown, almost blond, hair that had a slight wave to it as it fell just past his ears. But, it was longer than it looked, because it was tied back in a short ponytail, leaving only two side-bang-like pieces to fall free.

Once the two other Hitachiins came into view, Tamaki stopped laughing and clenched his fist in his lap. Haruhi slapped his arm when he did this. "Tamaki stop it. You can't hate him forever."

Kaoru then turned around in his seat to see his older twin standing before them. He got out of his seat quickly and walked over to the two.

"Good to see you, Kao-nii!" Ageha stood on her toes as Kaoru knelt down to hug his sister and kiss her on the cheek.

Kaoru smiled at her. "Good to see you too, Ageha. We have a place set for you at that table right there." He pointed to the table just a few feet next to the one where the adults were sitting. "Chris's sister and Nat's sisters are over there too."

She forced a smile. _"Great. More children to talk to. I hate being seven. . ."_

"Thank you nii-san!" She started walking away from Kaoru, but instead of heading to the other table, she moved towards Tamaki.

Tamaki moved out of his chair to pick the girl up into a spinning hug. "Ageha! How are you, my dear princess? You look lovely today."

The small girl giggled and blushed. "Thank you, Milord. I am well. It is great to see you're doing well, also!"

Without realizing it, both Hikaru and Kaoru gave an irritated look when Ageha called Tamaki "Milord."

As if that was her cue, Ageha gave Tamaki a final hug and walked over to her table. Once seated, she nodded at Hikaru as a "good luck" sign.

Kaoru turned back to his twin and stood there silently.

Hikaru put his hands in his pockets as he looked down at his feet and began to shuffling them. "Hey, Kaoru . . . It's been a while. . . Uhm. Sorry I haven't been, uh, returning your calls or anything." He started rubbing the back of his neck with one of his hands, still looking down and shuffling his feet. "Oh and uh, congratulations on getting eng-"

He was interrupted when Kaoru suddenly pulled him into a tight embrace. "I missed you so much Hikaru. I was so freaking worried about you. Everyone was. I thought I would never see you again."

Hikaru blushed and awkwardly hugged his brother back. "J- Just because I drink a lot doesn't mean that you'll never see me again . . . I mean you're my twin brother, and even though I'm still pissed about everything that's going on right now, I still wanna at least try to fix it."

Kaoru smiled at Hikaru. "Well, I'm glad you want to fix it. We'll help fix it too." He put one arm around Hikaru and led him to the last vacant chair. It was next to the unknown man, whose name appeared to be Chris, and Haruhi. "You'll be sitting here, next to Chris." At the mention of his name, Chris stood up and held out his hand for Hikaru to shake.

"Hey! Nice to meet you, Hikaru. I'm Christian, or just Chris as your brother just said. I've heard a lot about you from Kaoru. I'm Natalia's best friend."

Hikaru shook the man's hand. "Nice to meet you too. I haven't heard anything about you, but that's probably because I haven't had much contact with my brother for the past few years." He chuckled awkwardly and sat down next to Chris.

Haruhi smiled at the older twin when he sat down. "I'm glad you could make it, Hikaru."

Hikaru smiled back at Haruhi and said quietly, "Me too . . ."

He looked over to Tamaki and then to Natalia, neither of which made eye contact with him. _"Figures."_ he thought, _"I've treated Nat like crap since they started dating. And Tamaki is probably still pissed about that night with Haruhi . . ."_

An awkward silence hovered about the table for a moment before Hikaru decided to speak up. "So, Chris. You're Nat's best friend, right? How long have you two known each other? And what brings you to this dinner tonight."

"Don't call me Nat." The Italian woman snapped angrily at the older twin.

"C'mon Hun. You don't need to do that to him . . ." Kaoru calmly pleaded with his fiancée. With that, she went back to being silent.

"Alright, you're _Natalia'_ s best friend, sorry."

Chris chuckled and looked at Hikaru. "Nat and I have practically known each other since birth. My mother was her mother's assistant, so she used to bring me along with her to keep Nat company when we were little." He took a small breath and continued. "And what brings me to this lovely dinner, you ask? Well Nat is a loser with only one real friend – Me, of course. – So she had to cave and ask her lovely gay man to be her 'maid of honor,' so to speak."

Hikaru nodded and laughed slightly. "That sounds like a great time. I always thought Natalia would have tons of friends! I mean, she is just such a kind and bubbly person! Aren't you, Nat?"

At that, she slammed her palms on the table and pushed her chair out. "Please excuse me." She got up and walked away from the table.

"Nat! Wait!" Kaoru gave Hikaru an angry glance, but Hikaru just threw up his hands and stifled a laugh. Kaoru then got up and went after his fiancée.

Haruhi sighed and frowned at Hikaru. "You know, that wasn't very nice of you Hikaru. You don't have to mess with her like that."

"The thing is, I was being honest. She _is_ a really nice person. I've just happened to be a dick to her for the past five years so anything I say to her will make me sound like an ass."

"You have no right to treat her like that." Tamaki finally spoke up. "After the way you've treated her- the way you've treated all of us- you have no right."

"Tamaki, did you even hear a word I just said. I was being honest. I wasn't messing with her."

Tamaki went silent once more, still refusing to look at Hikaru.

Haruhi began to talk quietly to him to try to calm him down. Hikaru and Chris turned back to each other and continued their conversation.

"Let's try this again. So Hikaru, you and Kaoru were very close growing up, right?"

"Yeah. We were practically inseparable. We never left each other's sides. We were so close that it was nearly impossible to tell the two of us apart. We even dressed, acted, and did our hair almost exactly the same to confuse people. The only one that was ever able to tell us apart was Haruhi. But now, it's pretty damn easy to tell who's who."

"Well, I wouldn't say that. Yeah, from what I've heard, you've changed a lot, but at the moment, you two still hold true to the fact that you are identical twins. Tonight, the only way I would be able to tell the two of you apart if you hadn't told me who's who, is the fact that you look really tired and kind of sad too. While, from the time that I've known him, Kaoru always seems pretty happy and awake."

Hikaru leaned back in his chair at that comment and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, I get that a lot. I guess that's what hating the way your life turned out does to you. Well that and the over-abundance of alcohol. Speaking of alcohol, I could really use a drink right about now."

As soon as he said that, as if on cue, Ageha looked over from where she was sitting and gave Hikaru the most terrifying death glare imaginable.

" . . . On second thought, I'll just stick with water tonight."

Chris laughed loudly and patted Hikaru's back. "You've got quite the interesting family. And I have to admit, you are all quite the attractive bunch, too. But I guess being rich and famous in the fashion industry has its benefits."

"Oh please Chris, you should know by now that my lover is naturally perfect and gorgeous." Natalia's voice rand from behind them as her and Kaoru walked arm-in-arm back to the table.

Kaoru blushed profusely as he and Natalia sat back down at the table. He then smiled at everyone there. "So, let's try this again, shall we?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! That's it for this time. I don't really have much to say . . .
> 
> OH WAIT! YES I DO, DUH.
> 
> The lovely Christian. Chris is such a lovely gay man don't you think. His personality is based off of the way me and my friends are. (some of my friends happen to be gay okay.)
> 
> Well, I don't really plan on writing Kaoru and Natalia's wedding, because I HATE writing out weddings. So, I'll just stick to Tamaki and Haruhi's wedding. So there will be a slight time skip. The next chapter will probably be just after the wedding and will most likely be based off of yet another great idea my sister gave me. (my sister is just a little genius. and she loves ouran so why not have her help out!?)
> 
> So, since we won't really be able to see Chris as Nat's maid of honor, let's see who can guess why I really put Chris in this story. Hmmmm.
> 
> Please review!


	8. Well That's New

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright readers! I have been forced at gunpoint to finish writing this chapter. Not really. But my sister is really anxious for this chapter because it was her idea and Sofia, the OC based off of her, makes her first appearance with her lovely husband Takashi.
> 
> This chapter is a bit longer than the other ones, but not quite as long as intended. I planned on having Hikaru in this chapter, but I guess I'll save that for chapter 8. So anyways, please enjoy this crazy chapter that was sooooo hard to write, and also enjoy Mori and Sofia's first appearance in this fanfic. I know it's a small appearance but they will be in more trust me.
> 
> Enjoy! and PLEASE REVIEW YAY!

**_One month after the wedding of Kaoru Hitachiin and Natalia Rossi. Three months until the wedding of Tamaki Suoh and Haruhi Fujioka._ **

"Haruhi darling? Are you sure you want a small wedding? I mean it's not like we can't afford it. I am in charge of the entire Suoh group now. And it wouldn't even be that hard to pla-"

"Tamaki, I've made up my mind. I just want a small ceremony with our close friends. You know I'm not very fond of huge parties anyways." Haruhi dismissed her fiancé's idea calmly as she filed away some papers from work.

Tamaki pouted and went back to flipping through the book that was in his lap. "Fine. But if you get to decide what kind of wedding we have, then I get to decide where we honeymoon."

The brunette sighed and looked over at him. "Personally, I think the whole honeymoon idea is a bit excessive. But I guess it's only fair."

The blond jumped up at that statement and pulled Haruhi into a tight embrace. "Just leave it to me! It will be so magnificent!" He put her back down and turned to where he was sitting. "Oh! And speaking of magnificent." He picked up the book he had just dropped and opened it to a page covered in dresses. Wedding dresses. "I think you would look magnificent in this dress, Haruhi! Don't you?"

Haruhi pushed the book down and sighed once more. "Last time I checked, the bride picks the dress, not the-"

She stopped dead in her tracks. Haruhi knit her eyebrows in confusion as a wave of nausea rushed over her. Her eyes then grew wide as her face paled and she felt the nauseous feeling become even stronger. "Hold that thought, Tamaki. I'll be right back." And with that she rushed out of the office and into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

"Wh- Haruhi?!" Tamaki rushed after her a moment later and stopped in front of the bathroom door. "Haruhi, are you alright? Are you sick? Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine. Don't worry about it," Haruhi said weakly in between her heaving. After a few minutes, Haruhi emerged from the bathroom looking slightly ragged.

"Well that's new. I haven't gotten sick like that in years." She pushed her bangs off of her slightly dampened forehead and smiled up at Tamaki. "No need to worry though. I fell alright, now."

"Are you sure you're alright, Haruhi? I can take you to a doctor if you need it. Or I can have one come here if you don't feel well enough to leave the house." A tone of quiet panic coated Tamaki's voice. Haruhi had a point, she very rarely got sick like this, so when she did, Tamaki had no idea what to do.

"I'll be fine, don't worry. But I do think that I'll head to bed now. It's getting pretty late and I'm pretty worn out from all that." She looked back up at Tamaki and gave him a genuine smile. "I'll be fine."

But she wasn't. Random waves of nausea kept coming over her for about a week. Tamaki was in complete panic mode and would not let her even lift a finger.

" _Until you get better, I prohibit you from doing anything yourself. If I have the ability to do something for you, I will."_

Near the end of the week, Haruhi sent Tamaki out to get some groceries that they were currently lacking. She was feeling well enough that he felt it was okay to be gone for a little bit. While he was gone, she decided to try and figure out why she was still sick.

That's when she realized it.

A certain friend hadn't visited her that month. And that friend was supposed to visit every month.

Haruhi's eyes grew wide. "Oh my God . . . I'm late."

She pulled out her phone and dialed a familiar number. Mei Yasumura.

_"Oh hey Haruhi! I haven't talked to you in forever! How long has it been? A month maybe?"_

"Hey Mei. You're still in Boston until Monday, right?"

_"That's right! Why do you ask?"_

"I think – Never mind that. I'm coming over okay. It's important." And with that, Haruhi hung up the phone and started getting dressed.

A few moments later, Tamaki arrived back at home. " _HAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRUUUUUUHHHIIIIIIII! I'm hoooome!"_

Haruhi rushed down stairs, looking as healthy as ever. "Welcome back, Tamaki." She stood on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "Actually. I was just about to run out. Mei called me and she wanted to have some girl time before she left on Monday. I promise I will be back in an hour at the latest."

Haruhi didn't let Tamaki get in a word in before she was out the door. After a moment, Haruhi poked her head back in the door and looked over at Tamaki. "I'm feeling fine trust me. And if I start feeling sick, I'll come right back home, okay?"

And then she was gone.

* * *

* _Knock knock knock knock knock knock*_

Mei rushed to the hotel room door at the sound of the frantic knocking. "Hey Haruhi! Come on-"her words faded as completely dazed Haruhi walked past her and into the hotel suite. "-in."

She closed the door behind her and walked over to Haruhi, who was now pacing the small living area. "Okay, what the hell is going on. You never act like this." Haruhi didn't answer. "C'mon. You're acting like Tamaki when he's having an emotional crisis . . ."

The shorter girl stopped her pacing but still refused to face her friend.

"Well. At least this is progress. Will you tell me what's up now?"

Silence.

"Haruhi, you came all the way to the city to tell me something soooo important so if you don't tell me now, I'm gonna call Tamaki and have him come ov-"

"I'm late." Haruhi interrupted Mei quietly.

"What do you mean 'late?' Like late for work? Late for a date with Tamaki? Late for an appointment? C'mon Haruhi. It's not like you to be so vague."

She turned around and looked Mei in the eyes. Haruhi looked like she had just seen someone die. She was in complete panic mode. "I'm _LATE._ "

She put more emphasis on "late" this time. As soon as she realized what Haruhi meant, one of her hands flew to her mouth as she gasped. "Oh my God. You mean . . . You're _PREGNANT?!_ "

At those words, Haruhi started pacing again. "I don't know Mei. I mean I have been throwing up randomly for the past week, my mood has been completely out of whack, I'm really late- I'm a mess Mei! What if I am pregnant?! How do I tell Tamaki? _What_ do I tell him? We're getting married in three months! Why couldn't this have happened after we got married!?"

Mei walked over while Haruhi was rambling. "Haruhi calm down!" She grabbed her friend's shoulders and stared her down. "It will be fine. You don't even know if you're pregnant or not. So we're gonna find out."

Mei released her grasp on Haruhi's shoulders and walked over to the bathroom in the suite.

"WH-what are you doing Mei?" Haruhi sat down on the couch to catch her breath and calm herself.

Mei came out of the bathroom not even a minute later with a box in her hand.

"What is that?"

She shook the box a bit and smiled. "Pregnancy tests, dummy." She paused and looked over at Haruhi, who had a questioning look on her face. "Oh don't look at me like that. No, I'm not pregnant. But I have had my fair share of false alarms. I mean why wouldn't I? Ritsu and I don't always play it safe, and it seems like neither do you and Tamaki." Mei smirked at her friend, causing the smaller woman to turn scarlet.

"Here. Take this. Use it. And we will hang out until the results are ready. It should only take about five minutes though so you won't have to wait long." The blond woman handed the brunette one of the tests and shoved her towards the bathroom.

"Alright . . . Are you sure about this Mei?" Haruhi stopped in the bathroom doorway and glanced back at her.

"Just go! You wanna know, don't you?!"

* * *

Haruhi was staring at the ceiling while she lied on the floor. "Ugh. Why is this taking so long? Hasn't it been five minutes already?"

The other girl chuckled. "You've got a minute left, little miss impatient. Thinking about it will just make time go by slower."

Haruhi looked over at Mei, who was sitting on the couch. "Thanks for being here, Mei. You seem to handle this a lot better than I do . . ."

"Hey, it's what best friends are for." She went silent for a moment and then stood up. "Alright, Fujioka. Truth time. Do you want to see it first, or do you want me to check?"

Haruhi sat there for a few seconds with her hands over her face. "Well . . . I don't know." She flipped over on her stomach and groaned. "You do it. Just get it over with."

Mei stretched and walked over to the counter where they had set the test to wait. She picked it up and stared at it for a moment. And then she started laughing quietly.

She set the pregnancy test down and turned back to Haruhi. The brunette sat up quickly and stared at the blonde.

"What? What does it say?"

Mei put her hands on her hips and started to laugh louder. "Looks like someone's got a bun in the oven. Congratulations, Haruhi. You and Tamaki are the first of us to be parents."

* * *

"Tamaki. I'm home." Haruhi had a tone of dread in her voice as she walked through her front door.

Tamaki walked down the stairs and pulled Haruhi into yet another tight embrace. "Haruhi, I was worried about you. You can't just go out randomly when you are sick like this."

Haruhi awkwardly wiggled herself out of the embrace and sighed. "I'm fine trust me. I've been feeling better since yesterday. But right now, I'm a little drained. So I think I'm gonna take a nap."

Tamaki watched her as she walked up the stairs to their room. "Oh . . . Alright." He paused for a moment but spoke up when Haruhi got to their door. "Haruhi?"

"Hm?" She glanced at Tamaki, who was still standing at the bottom of the steps.

"Is something bothering you? Even before you got sick, you've been acting different than usual. What's wrong?"

She placed her hand on the doorknob and forced a smile. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine, Tamaki. Really, I am."

* * *

About two hours later, Haruhi woke up and walked down the stairs in one of Tamaki's t-shirts and a pair of her old shorts. She walked into the kitchen to see Tamaki making what appeared to be soup.

She sat down at one of the stools placed at the island and rubbed her eyes. "How long was I out?"

He turned around and leaned against the counter. "Only about two hours. I had a feeling you would wake up soon, so I made us some lunch. Or early dinner. Whichever you want to call it. Are you feeling alright?"

Haruhi smiled warmly at Tamaki. "Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better than earlier this week, actually. Thanks for taking care of me."

Tamaki laughed and sat down next to her. "I didn't really see it as 'taking care of you.' I really just saw it as spending time with my lovely princess and treating her like the royalty she is."

She laughed and leaned on his shoulder. "You're such a moron. I love it."

He kissed the top of her head and then looked over at the clock hanging on the wall. "Oh. I almost forgot. I found this store nearby that does great centerpieces for weddings. I was thinking that maybe after lunch we could go have a look. It could at least give us some ideas for our wedding. I know we have some time, but it would be easier to get the small stuff out of the way first. "

Haruhi sat back up and looked down at her hands. "Tamaki . . . About the wedding . . . I uh – I think we should maybe have the wedding sooner than we have planned. Like maybe next month?"

"Why do you say that? You picked out the time when we first started planning. What made you change your mind?"

Still looking down at her hands, Haruhi laughed nervously. "Oh no reason. I just think that it's a small wedding so we don't really need a whole lot of time to plan it, ya know?"

Tamaki nodded and smiled back at her. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But if we're gonna have this wedding next month, then we really should go to that centerpiece place after lunch. "

"How about this? We make this our last official day of relaxing, then we really get down to business with planning? Sound like a deal?" Haruhi stood up and went to get two bowls for the newly finished soup.

Tamaki took the bowls from her and kissed her forehead. "Deal."

* * *

The next morning, Haruhi and Tamaki were getting ready to go to the shop Tamaki mentioned, when a sudden wave of nausea washed over Haruhi once more.

 _"No no, not now! I need water. Come on something to get rid of this feeling besides throwing up!_ "

"Haruhi? Are you alright? You look a little pale."

"Yeah. Yeah I'm fine. I just need a glass of water. I'm a little dehydrated right now."

Without a second to lose, Tamaki disappeared and reappeared with a bottle of water in hand. "Thanks Tamaki. I'll just keep this with me today."

* _Knock knock knock*_

"I'll get it." Haruhi started walking out of their room and towards the steps.

"No, you finish getting ready. I'll go see who it is." Tamaki walked past her down the stairs and went to the front door.

He opened the door to see two familiar faces. One was more familiar than the other, but they were both familiar nonetheless.

"Oh, Mori-sempai. And Sofia. I didn't know you two were still in Boston. What brings you here?"

_Sofia, the young Hispanic woman, was about the same height as Haruhi. She had long curly/wavy chestnut hair and dark brown eyes. Her tan skin was close to the same tone as Takashi's. She and Takashi had been married for two years now after meeting at a small pet store in Puerto Rico that Sofia worked at. The Morinozukas and the Honinozukas decided to go on a vacation together there. About a year after the two met, they married._

"Tamaki!" Sofia left her husband's side to pull her relatively new friend into a hug. "It's good to see you! Takashi and I decided to stop by and congratulate you and Haruhi! Right, Takashi?"

The tall stoic man nodded from behind his wife. "Yeah."

Tamaki moved aside and opened the door fully to let the two in. "But, if I remember correctly, you already congratulated us on the engagement at Kaoru and Natalia's wedding."

Sofia, in a fashion similar to one Mitsukuni Honinozuka, plopped down on the couch and looked back at Tamaki. "No, it's not about that, dummy." She giggled before continuing. "It's about the baby, of course."

Tamaki's face went blank. "Wh-what are you talking about? Mori-sempai, what is Sofia talking about?"

Takashi walked over next to the couch and looked back at Tamaki. "Kasanoda told us that Haruhi is pregnant. Apparently Mei-chan helped her find out."

Tamaki's mouth went dry. Once he regained his ability to speak, he called for his fiancée. "Haruhi darling! W-why don't you come downstairs and join us! Mori-sempai and Sofia are here to visit, bearing g-good news!"

Haruhi stood at the top of the stairs completely petrified, having heard the entire conversation.

_"Dammit, Mei! It's only been a day, and now he didn't even find out from me!"_

Haruhi noticed Tamaki stumbling over his words before she responded. " _Well that's new. He's at a loss of words with someone other than me."_

She cleared her throat and said in the most nonchalant voice possible, "You don't need to shout Tamaki. I'm coming. The house isn't that big, after all."

Haruhi got to the bottom of the steps with a strong poker face on. "So what's this wonderful news you speak of?"

Tamaki was as pale as a ghost as he turned to Haruhi. "Apparently, you're pregnant, darling!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah! Tamaki is pretty damn shell shocked! Don't worry he isn't like dreading being a father or anything, he's not that kind of guy. He's just freaking out.
> 
> And if you're wondering why Takashi and Sofia were the first ones to congratulate them (well besides Mei, but that doesn't count) it's because in the manga, it says that Takashi was the first to congratulate them on the pregnancy so yeah.
> 
> Next chapter will start out Tamaharu but will feature a lot of Hikaru andsomeoneelse so until then!
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW!


	9. An Act of Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings, again! I wanted to get this chapter up because it's been on my mind so yeah. This chapter is the longest I've ever written and it was supposed to be longer but I decided to make the last part I planned on having in this story its own little chapter. So the next chapter (maybe two) will be fairly short. Probably around 1,500 words maybe less.
> 
> AND I kinda lied about Hikaru being in this chapter. he will be a main character in chapter 10. like it's gonna be mainly about him in that chapter so yaaaay! i love hikaru hes like my second fav character.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy this long chapter! it was super hard to write and hey KYOYA IS IN IT! Some of kyoya's plot-line that my sister came up with is in this. Well actually the section that I thought of is in this chapter. the rest is yet to come.

_Tamaki was as pale as a ghost as he turned to Haruhi. "Apparently, you're pregnant, darling!"_

Haruhi ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Tamaki, about that, I-"

A quiet gasp was heard from the couch. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I had no idea that Tamaki didn't know. I honestly thought he was the first to know, well other than Mei."

Haruhi smiled at Sofia and laughed. "It's alright, Sofia. Really. I honestly should have expected the news to spread if Mei was the first to know."

Tamaki, still as pale as a ghost, was completely frozen in place.

Haruhi waved a hand in front of her fiancé. "Tamaki? . . . Heloooo? . . ."

After a moment, Sofia got up and pulled something out of her purse. She walked over to Haruhi and handed her a small plush baby chick. "Takashi and I made it. We thought it would be great for the baby. I know it's still early, but other than your wedding, we have no idea when we'll be able to travel here again." She walked back over to the couch and grabbed her husband's hand to pull him up. "We'll let you two have some privacy now. C'mon Hun."

Takashi nodded and walked towards the front door. Before he walked out, he turned back to Haruhi and Tamaki and smiled faintly. "Congratulations, again."

Takashi then walked out, but Sofia stayed behind for a moment. She walked over to Tamaki and smacked him on the back of the head to break him out of his trance. "This amazing woman is about to be your wife and is carrying your child. Stop acting like this is the end of the world!" Sofia walked over to Haruhi and pulled her into a hug. "If he screws this up, call me. But mainly make sure he doesn't screw this up."

And with that, the two Morinozukas were gone.

Once the two were gone, Haruhi grabbed Tamaki's hand and led him over to the recently vacated couch. "Okay so . . . Obviously, we have something major to talk about right now."

Tamaki began speaking a mile a minute as soon as they sat down. "Why didn't you tell me? Shouldn't I have been the first to know? Is this why you have been sick all week? And why you have been acting weird for a few weeks now? And how did Mei know? Is that why you rushed over to her hotel room yesterday? And Wh-"

"Tamaki, slow down! Just stop talking for a minute and let me explain, okay?" Haruhi put the stuffed chick down on the coffee table and looked back at Tamaki.

" Okay. Yes, this is why I have been sick and moody for a while now. At least, I'm pretty sure that's why. You weren't the first to know because, yes, I went to Mei's hotel room to see if she could help me. And obviously she did. And the only reason I didn't tell you is because . . . is because. . . "

"Because what, Haruhi? Why am I apparently the last to know that my fiancée is with child? _MY_ child?" Tamaki wasn't looking at Haruhi as either of them spoke. He just stared at his hands in his lap.

Haruhi sighed and pulled her knees to her chest. "Because I was scared. And I still am. Scared of what you would say. This changes everything, and I didn't want anything to change. I'm afraid that we aren't ready for this. What if we're bad parents? What if . . . What if I'm a bad mom?"

Tamaki pulled Haruhi close to him and pecked her swiftly on the lips and smiled. "Haruhi, I promise you that you will be an amazing mother. You've been able to keep me in line for all these years, so a baby that has only half of my DNA will be a piece of cake. And as for change, of course this changes everything, but don't for a second think that this will change things for the worse." He laughed and put his chin on the top of her head. "I wasn't lying when I said that it was wonderful news. This is probably the greatest news I've ever heard. Well, other than when you agreed to marry me."

Haruhi smiled up at Tamaki. "So . . . you're actually happy about this?"

Tamaki stood up and pulled Haruhi off of the couch. "Of course I'm happy about this! I'm gonna be a dad! You're gonna be a mom! Haruhi, we're gonna be parents!" He laughed gleefully and lifted her off the ground into a spinning hug. "I'm absolutely ecstatic! I am the luckiest man alive!" He kissed her and set her down gently.

Haruhi laughed and moved her hair behind her ear. "Well, I'm glad you feel that way. And I think I'm pretty lucky myself." She straightened her clothes and grabbed Tamaki's hand again. "Now, let's start planning that wedding before this baby decides to start showing."

Tamaki, of course, was confused by that last statement. "Wait. Are you really that far along? You don't look like it . . ."

Haruhi laughed and pulled Tamaki out of the house with her. "You idiot! I just found out yesterday. But, I do have a dress to fit into. You can't honestly think that I don't have a dress picked out yet, can you? Now let's go! We've got a lot of work to do. And a lot of phone calls to make."

* * *

"Yep. We're looking at June 17th. That seems like the earliest we will have everything planned. We're just going to have the ceremony and reception here since we have a nice backyard. Yep. Uh-huh. Thanks Kyoya. Alright. See you then."

Tamaki looked over at Haruhi, who had just walked back into the room. "Alright, I just finished up my calls. Kyoya said congratulations, again and that he'll probably be here the Monday before the wedding. So in about three weeks."

"Sounds like a plan. I just finished up my calls. Mei said that she and Casanova should be here around the same time that you said Kyoya would be. It seems like the only person left to talk to is-"

_*Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz*_

"-Dad . . ."

Haruhi picked her phone back up and answered it.

_"HARUHI FUJIOKA! Why is it that once again, I do not find out something very IMPORTANT about MY DAUGHTER from MY DAUGHTER!? Honestly, it seems like the only reliable person these days is Kyoya. I thought maybe you would tell me soon after Kyoya told me but no! It seems I was wrong. I've waited a week to get a call from you, young lady."_

"Hey, Dad. I miss you too. . . So listen, you weren't the last to know about this. The last person to know was Tamaki, ironically. I planned on telling people eventually, but Mei beat me to spreading the word. That's why Kyoya told you before I did. I was actually just about to call you when you called me."

_"So . . . You weren't hiding this from me? You were actually going to call me first? I actually knew before that bumbling idiot did?"_

Haruhi sighed into the phone. "Yes Dad. You knew before Tamaki did. You know, you don't have to constantly call him an idiot . . ."

_"Oh, Haruhi. You know I'm only joking. That boy has proven to be worthy of my appreciation because he makes you the happiest I've ever seen you since your mother died . . ."_

"He really does. Thanks dad. Oh and that wasn't the only reason I was calling you. I was also gonna call to tell you that we moved the wedding up. We're actually having it in three weeks. On June 17th. "

" _WHAT!? Haruhi! I can't handle all of this! My baby girl all grown up and getting married. And now she's having a baby of her own!? I'm too young to be a grandfather! Haruhi, why do you do this to me?"_

"Calm down, Dad! The only reason we moved the wedding closer is because I already had a dress picked out when I found out I was pregnant. If I'm gonna be able to fit into that dress, we need to have the wedding soon, and that was the best time for us."

_"Oh alright, I guess you have a point. Well, I'll start preparing now. Text me if anything else changes okay?"_

"Alright dad, I will. Okay. Yeah. Thanks dad. Bye."

Haruhi put her phone down and sat at the edge of their bed next to Tamaki. "Well, he still hasn't changed at all."

Tamaki laughed. "At least he doesn't hate me anymore."

"Yeah true." Haruhi leaned her head on Tamaki's shoulder. "I guess we should get back to planning, now that all the phone calls are taken care of."

He kissed her on the cheek and stood back up. "Good idea. Let's get to work."

* * *

**_June 17_ ** **_th_ ** **_, 2015. The day that Tamaki Suoh and Haruhi Fujioka are to be wed._ **

Tamaki paced back and forth in Kyoya's hotel suite for hours.

"Tamaki, don't you think you're being a little ridiculous. I mean the two of you have been together for nearly a decade. What makes today so different from that?" Kyoya was buttoning his dress shirt and getting ready for the wedding as his best friend fell apart behind him.

"What if- What if I forget my vows? What if I completely freeze in the middle of it? What if something goes terribly wrong and the wedding has to be canceled? What am I going to do, Kyoya!?"

Kyoya turned around and slapped Tamaki in the face. "Oh shut up will you?! I got barely any sleep because of your nervous antics, so you're lucky I'm even talking to you right now." He sighed and went back to getting ready. "Everything will be fine, Tamaki. I helped plan this wedding, so I can assure you that nothing will go wrong. So stop freaking out about it and finish getting ready."

Tamaki nodded and went to put the rest of his tuxedo on. He emerged from the bathroom moments later, all primped and ready for his wedding.

He walked over to the mirror Kyoya was standing in front of and sighed. "Kyoya?"

"Yes, Tamaki?"

"I know I was there with you, but you're so hard to read sometimes, so . . . Were you at all nervous at your wedding?"

Kyoya walked over to one of the beds and started putting his shoes on. "No. Not really. I mean, yes Masami is a gorgeous woman and very kind, but the whole thing was mainly for the benefit of our families companies."

~ _"Kyoya, you have exceeded my expectations of you more than I ever thought possible. I am very proud of you."_

_"Thank you, father." Kyoya bowed his head to the man and gave a faint smile._

_"But I do have one favor to ask of you. Since both of your brothers and your sister are all married already, you are my only option."_

_"I will be happy to help with whatever you need, father."_

_"Good. I would like you to marry the heiress to the Samezuka family. They are a newer electronics group, but they are becoming more and more powerful by the day. And they only have one child and she happens to be around your age. It would do both our family and theirs a great deal if you two were to marry."_

_Kyoya bowed once more. "Of course, father. I would be happy to marry this woman. I will do as you request." ~_

"But, you two still love each other, right? You chose to marry each other. So you must be happy, right?"

"Well, I would hardly say it was out of love. We married each other because, at the time, we both saw that we would gain something from it. It was a mutual agreement more than an act of love. You and Haruhi are in love. This wedding, this marriage . . . It's different than what I went through."

Tamaki sat down to put his shoes on as well. "I guess you have a point. " He finished putting his shoes on and stood up.

"How is Masami doing, anyways? I noticed she didn't arrive here with you. Did she just get here or?"

Kyoya stood up and walked to the living area of the sweet. "Well, I wouldn't know how she is doing. I assume she's alright since our companies are still making interactions today. And I doubt she's here in Boston. She has no reason to be."

Tamaki was dumbfounded. "Wait. What do you mean you wouldn't know? How could you not know how your own wife is doing?"

"Because she's my ex-wife, Tamaki. We got a divorce about a year ago. It was mutual, don't worry. We both agreed that we wanted to marry someone out of love, like you and Haruhi. So we decided to end our marriage, but keep our companies in good standing."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me, Kyoya?! And you're pretty young to be getting a divorce."

Kyoya chuckled and put a hand on Tamaki's shoulder, who had just walked over to where Kyoya was standing. "I got married as soon as I got out of college, Tamaki. But enough of that. This day isn't about me and my love life, it's about yours and Haruhi's. Now come on. Or else we're gonna be late to your wedding."

* * *

"How long is this whole wedding thing gonna take, because this dress is tighter than I hoped it would be?" Haruhi stood in front of a mirror and messed with her dress.

Mei came over and slapped Haruhi's hands away from the dress. "Quit messing with the damn dress! We knew it was going to be a little tight ever since we found out that Tamaki knocked you up. So stop complaining."

"Fine! Gosh, you don't need to be so forceful about it." Haruhi walked over to her bed in her house and sat down. "Hey, Mei?"

The blond woman was adjusting her tight dress in the mirror where Haruhi had just stood. "Huh?"

"When are you and Casanova gonna get married? You two have been together for almost as long as I have been with Tamaki . . ."

At that question, Mei's face turned bright red and she turned towards her best friend. "W-we'll be married when we want to get married, alright!? And if you really wanna know, why don't you go ask Ritsu yourself, not me!"

Haruhi burst into laughter at Mei's response. "How'd I know you'd respond like that? You really are too much, Mei. And honestly, the reason I asked you was because I always pictured you asking him to marry you, instead of the other way around. Well, asking is the nice way of putting it. I always pictured it as more of a 'we're getting married and that's that. Now go get me a pretty ring.'"

Mei's jaw dropped when Haruhi said that. "Haruhi! What kind of relationship do you think we have!? Ritsu and I happen to be very happy together! I only come off forceful when someone pisses me off. He's not just some possession of mine."

Haruhi laughed a bit more and stood back up. "Alright alright. Sorry Mei, I didn't mean to offend you." She straightened out her dress and sighed.

The brunette walked back over to the mirror and stared at her reflection. He hair was long enough now to be pulled back into an elegant up-do. She had side bangs falling on her face. Her face was lightly coated with elegant makeup, but not a lot since she normal wore none. She was wearing simple jewelry and her engagement ring was on her finger. Her natural beauty outshone everything she had on. She was a gorgeous bride.

Mei walked up behind her and smiled. "You look wonderful, Haruhi. Now let's turn you into a Suoh."

The blonde woman walked over to the bedroom door. "I'll see you down there. And hurry up, alright. Your dad will be waiting right outside the entry-way once you're ready. I actually think he's in a suit today, instead of a dress." And with that, she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! SO I was going to have the wedding in this chapter but it was gonna make it really long so the next chapter is the wedding and its gonna be kinda short. So yeah
> 
> REVIEW THANKS


	10. The Gambler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so this chapter is longer than I thought it would be so YAY! And it actually has Hikaru in it! Wow, shocking right!? I actually managed to fit what I really wanted about Hikaru in this chapter instead of the next one.
> 
> I don't want to write a long authors note for this so I'll just get right to the point. Yes this is the wedding/reception. So once the reception starts it's not all Tamaharu.
> 
> Just sayin this now, there is more gayness than I planned in this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Ps- I got the name of the chapter from the song, The Gambler by FUN. because it just seems like the perfect wedding song for anyone so yah no one actually says that in this chapter.

He smiled with tears in his eyes and pulled her into a warm embrace. "You look beautiful, Haruhi." He pulled apart from the embrace but left his hands on her shoulders. "You look just like your mother did when we got married. I know she would be so proud of you."

He was dressed in a plain black suit and his long maroon hair was cut short, in a similar fashion to Haruhi's hairstyle in high school. His face was cleanly shaven, but he wore no makeup, which was also a contrast to his usual style.

Haruhi placed her hand on top of one of her father's and smiled. "Thanks Dad. I wish she could be here. But I'm still happy that you're here."

Ranka faced forward towards the door and took his daughter's arm in his own. "I wouldn't miss my little girl's big day for anything! Now let's get this wedding started before I flood the house with my tears."

Haruhi laughed and faced the door with her father. A moment later, the music started.

* * *

The walk down the aisle was a complete blur. All of her closest friends, and his parents . . . All of them were standing and smiling as they watched her approach the small altar in the center of the backyard. Her face was veiled, hiding her newfound anxiety.

" _Why am I freaking out right now? I wasn't before. This isn't a big deal! Who am I kidding? This is a huge deal. This is my wedding. Tamaki and I are getting married. . . "_

Before she realized it, she and her father had stopped walking and her father was removing the veil from her face and kissing her on the cheek. Haruhi glanced over at her father, who was obviously fighting back a pool of tears, and smiled. She then walked up to the altar and faced Tamaki.

Tamaki couldn't help but smile the entire time the ceremony went on. She looked beautiful, more beautiful than she ever has. And he didn't think it was possible for her to get any more beautiful.

The ceremony became a complete blur to both of them. They couldn't even remember if they said their respective vows, but when they looked and saw the other smiling, they remembered they had.

_"Tamaki, darling. Don't be nervous about this. We all know how much you two love each other." She cupped her son's cheek in her hand. "If you get nervous, just look into her eyes. When you look into the eyes of your one true love, your mind has no choice but to tell you that everything is going to be okay."_

He thought of his mother's words throughout the entire ceremony. So, the entire time, he didn't once look at anyone but Haruhi. And before he knew it the ceremony was coming to a close.

"Do you, Haruhi Fujioka, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband-"

Before the priest could even finish Haruhi said, "I do," abruptly but calmly as she also refused to break eye contact with Tamaki.

The small audience of friends and family laughed at Haruhi's swift response, but she just smiled at her soon to be husband.

The priest chuckled as well and moved on to Tamaki. "Do you," he took a deep breath to prepare himself for Tamaki's full name, "Rene Tamaki Richard de Grantaine Suoh-" All of their friends and family broke out into quiet laughter as Tamaki blushed at the sound of his full name. Haruhi's eyes widened, she knew his real name was Rene but she had never heard his entire legal name before. "-take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife-"

In a similar fashion to Haruhi, Tamaki interrupted the priest with a swift, "I do."

"Awe come on! Let the poor man finish what he has to say, will ya'?!" Hikaru's voice was heard from inside the crowd as more laughter erupted.

Once the laughter settled, the priest finished up the ceremony. "Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Not even a split second after the priest finished talking, Haruhi grabbed onto Tamaki's tie and pulled him into a heated kiss. Cheering and (once more) laughter broke out amongst the crowd. "Or, of course, she can kiss you."

After a moment of cheering, Hikaru made his way to the front of the crowd and held his hands up to calm everyone down. "Alright, everyone! How about we stop watching these two weirdoes suck each other's faces off, and let's get to the fun stuff!" He turned around to Tamaki and Haruhi and bowed mockingly. "Mr. and Mrs. Suoh, I believe that you two have a party to host right about now."

* * *

Music played rather loudly through the house and backyard as friends and family gathered to celebrate the marriage of Tamaki and Haruhi. They had already gone through the traditional tasks like the throwing of the bouquet, the removing of the garter, and the cutting of the cake. At this point, everyone was just having a good time, some more than others.

"Did you know, th-that I had a thing for Haruhi in high school." Hikaru had already had quite a few drinks, causing his speech to slur ever-so-slightly.

"So, I've been told. And from what people have been telling me lately, you still do." Chris leaned against the counter next to him as Hikaru grabbed another drink. At his last comment, Hikaru sent him a furious glare. "I'll take that thank you. You seem to have had more than enough alcohol tonight."

"I don't have a thing for her anymore. And even if I did, I'd have to get over it real fast because she's married now, and pregnant." He tried to take the drink back from Chris. "Come on man, we're at a wedding reception. This is a party. I'm allowed to have fun, right?"

Chris opened the beer and downed it himself. "I promised Kaoru and Nat that I would babysit your sorry ass tonight." Once he finished the beer, he threw the bottle away and looked back at Hikaru. "And I have to say, for an alcoholic, you're a bit of a lightweight."

"Ha ha. Very funny." Hikaru got up from leaning against the counter and began to leave the kitchen. "Well, the party's almost over so I'm probably gonna head home now."

Chris came up behind Hikaru and grabbed his shoulder. "Oh no you don't. You're coming with me. You need to sober up before you go anywhere."

* * *

"You look amazing tonight, Haruhi. Well you always look amazing, but your beauty has truly outdone itself tonight." Tamaki smiled as he slow danced with his wife in his arms.

Haruhi laughed and set her head against his chest. "You don't look half bad yourself."

He set his chin on t op of her head. "Can you believe it? We're finally married. How does it feel to be a Suoh now?"

"Well in all honesty, it doesn't feel all that different. It's gonna take a while to get used to the name change though." She looked up at Tamaki. "And you never told me your name was that long. I mean you always told me it was long, but the only part you told me about was the 'Rene.'"

Tamaki chuckled and kissed her on the lips. "Well, now you know just how long my name is. It's kind of embarrassing actually."

She leaned back against his chest. "I like it. And I like this ceremony too. It's simple, just like I wanted."

Tamaki then sighed. "But you know, now we can't have much of a honeymoon since you're pregnant."

"Hey! Don't act like this is my fault. You're the one that impregnated me. And anyways, I only just got pregnant a month ago. So I don't think there's any harm in having a little fun tonight."

At that statement, the blond man blushed profusely and nodded. "Y-yeah, I guess you're right."

After the song was over, the newly-weds went to sit down at the main table set up for them. Everyone ate food, laughed, and danced for hours. The reception was about an hour from ending when Haruhi decided to go socialize while Tamaki socialized with his family.

Haruhi was walking near the front of the house when she ran into Chris. "Oh! Hey Chris! I'm glad you could make it tonight." She smiled at him warmly. "And I like your haircut. It suits you."

Chris laughed and pulled Haruhi into a hug. "I wouldn't miss this for the world. After I first met the two of you at that engagement dinner, I absolutely fell in love with you two." He kissed her on the cheek. "And thank you! You're the first one to notice my haircut. Not even Nat noticed. And I mean you think she would've said something since I cut it so short."

Chris was no longer sporting a wavy ponytail. He was now sporting a short parted side parted look that was reminiscent to the hair of a male model. It was only fitting since his best friend was in the fashion industry.

He smiled back at Haruhi. "I really have enjoyed tonight. But I'm afraid I'll have to call it short. I've been tasked with babysitting princess pouty and making sure he doesn't get too drunk. So I finally got him to sober up a bit, and I'm about to drive him home." Chris kissed Haruhi on the cheek once more. "You look absolutely flawless, Haruhi. Have a good rest of the night, and congratulations once more."

Haruhi smiled at her new friend. "Alright Chris, good luck with that. And thank you for looking out for him."

Chris laughed as he walked away. "It's really no big deal." He smirked jokingly at the new bride. "I have no problem looking after a nice ass like that."

* * *

Hikaru sat in the passenger seat of the car with his arms crossed. "I can't believe they're married now. And she's pregnant. What the hell?! Why is everyone finding so-called 'happiness' except for me?"

Chris sighed as he drove. "I thought you said you sobered up. This sounds more like a drunken pity party to me."

Hikaru glared at him. "I am sober. It's not like I want to be, though. Why are you taking me home anyways? You do know that I have just as much alcohol there, probably more."

"It's easier to keep an eye on you when there aren't twenty other drunk people surrounding you."

Hikaru stopped and sat up. "Wait. So you're not just dropping me off?"

Chris gave Hikaru a quick glance and chuckled softly. "No, I'm not. I'm staying. Not the whole night. Just until I know you won't get drunk. Or maybe until you get drunk enough to pass out. Whichever one happens first."

They drove in silence until they got to Hikaru's house. "Alright, we're here."

Hikaru sighed and got out of the car. In the elevator on the way to the top floor, he spoke up. "You know I don't need a babysitter."

Chris stretched and ran his fingers through his newly cut hair. "Recent studies show otherwise." He laughed and continued talking in an infomercial voice. "Studies show that Hikaru Hitachiin is a complete alcoholic that can't stay away from a drink for more than an hour. If he gets too much in his system, he turns into an angsty teenager that yells at everyone who even slightly ruined his life." He went back into his normal voice and glared at Hikaru. "And I have to say, 'ruined his life' is a very strong phrase. The only one that ruined your life is you, ya know."

The elevator dinged and Hikaru scoffed. "What do you know anyways? It seems like you're just one more person on my long list of people who tried to 'fix' me."

Chris walked out of the elevator in front of Hikaru. "I know a lot more than you think. I know that Kaoru and Haruhi didn't ruin your life at all. You just have abandonment issues. I know that-" He took the keys from Hikaru's hand. "- you were never the best at dealing with your emotions. And lastly, I know that-" He opened the door and walked over to the couch before plopping down. "Alcoholism is real. It's dangerous." Chris looked down at his hands as his voice got more serious. "No matter how 'controlled' you may think it is, it will always end up hurting someone you care about."

Hikaru cautiously took off his suit jacket and looked questioningly at Chris. "What's with the serious talk now? You look like you just killed someone."

Chris remained silent.

"Alright, well whatever it is, feel free to ramble about it. I'm gonna grab a drink." He walked over to the kitchen area.

"Don't- If you so much as touch a drop of alcohol I swear-"

"Alright, jeez. I didn't know you were so eager to kill me." He walked over and sat on the opposite side of the couch, propping his feet on the coffee table. "Why did you get so serious about the whole alcohol thing anyways? It's not like it could have affected you. Your life is pretty much made for you."

Chris snapped out of his serious trance and laughed. "You shouldn't jump to conclusions like that. It's dangerous. I may have grown up in a more progressive time with more tolerance than others, especially because my mom was in the fashion world. But some people just don't like who I am."

Hikaru looked over at Chris. "What do you mean by that? You're a nice enough guy. You're pretty damn smart too. And it's not like you're ugly or anything."

The Italian man laughed once more. "Why thank you, I'm flattered. But no that's not what I mean. My dad happened to be one of those people that didn't like how progressive things were getting. My parents divorced when I was about ten so they had split custody over me. And my dad wasn't too happy when I came out as gay. And he being a drunk didn't help my situation either. Let's just say he wasn't a very loving father."

Hikaru's face darkened as a wave of guilt rushed over him. "Shit man. I'm so sorry I had no idea."

Chris smiled and stood up to hang up his coat as well. "Don't worry about it. I didn't expect you to know. But that's the whole reason Kaoru and Natalia put me in charge of you. They knew that I would know how to keep you under control." He sat back down in a similar fashion that Hikaru was sitting.

"But I only agreed to do it because you've got a great ass." He said that a little quieter as he began to close his eyes to rest for a moment.

Hikaru turned scarlet. "Wait what?"

Chris chuckled quietly but didn't open his eyes. "Don't worry, Hikaru. I'm not here to turn you or anything. I know your still in love with Haruhi, anyways."

"I wasn't lying when I denied that earlier. I actually have been thinking about someone else for a little while now." He refused to look over at Chris.

The light brunet looked over at Hikaru at this statement. "Oh really? Well who is this lucky lady?"

Hikaru blushed darker red and fiddled his thumbs. "Well, I'm pretty sure Haruhi was the only girl I could ever really love. . . "

Chris's eyebrows rose as he waited for a name. "Well who is it then?"

Hikaru stood up and walked started walking to his room. "Nope. I can't do this. Alright, I promise I won't drink anymore tonight. You can go now."

Chris's eyes widened at the sudden realization. "Well well. Has the renowned Hikaru Hitachiin fallen for me? I never thought it was possible. He could have almost any woman he wanted but instead he chooses a silly Italian gay man like me?! What are the odds?!"

He jumped up off the couch and walked over to Hikaru who had frozen in place. He laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I mean, the way Kaoru described the two of you in high school, it isn't so farfetched that at least one of you would end up gay."

The older twin blushed even more (if that was even possible) and turned to face Chris. "I'm not gay alright! You can go now; I'll be fine on my own for the rest of the night."

Chris then smirked and pulled Hikaru forward and kissed him on the lips. "Nah, I think I'll stay the night now. Is that alright with you?"

Hikaru then pulled Chris's head back towards his own and kissed him once more, though this time it was more heated. He then felt behind him to open his bedroom door. The kiss only broke when the two fell onto Hikaru's bed.

Out of breath, Hikaru finally responded. "You know I don't need a baby sitter, right?"

Chris kissed Hikaru's neck and started unbuttoning Hikaru's shirt. "I'll take that as a yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty folks! Yep! Hikaru is gay yay! But I mean, who wouldn't fall for Chris. He's perfect. But anyways yeah lots of gayness and two implied sexy times. Tamaharu and Hikaris (Hikaru and Chris)
> 
> I felt it was fine to have gayness in this fic because the entire show is just a bunch of homosexuals flirting with women like for real.
> 
> The next chapter will have a little more gayness but not as aggressively sexy like this (sadly)
> 
> Anyways, please review! Yay!


	11. Finally Okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I had a lot of help writing this chapter from my sister and my bff Sam. I don't know why this was such a hard chapter to write. But i think it turned out alright.
> 
> I wasn't going to do this big of a time skip but it was just easier to make this time skip. So here you go! Tamaharu and Hikaris wooo!

**_November 17, 2015 – Five months since the wedding_ **

"Are you sure you don't need anything?"

She sighed. "Yes, I'm sure. I'll be fine."

"I'll stay if you want me to. Really, I can."

"Trust me; I can handle things on my own for the weekend."

"I just want to make sure you'll be fine while I'm gone."

"I've been fine throughout the pregnancy so far."

Tamaki gave her a glance that read " _you can't be serious right now."_

"Okay fine. I've been kind of hard to handle, I know. But I can manage this for three days."

He picked up his bag and hesitated to leave again. "Are you sure? I just don't want to leave you here alone."

She walked over to him and stood on her toes to kiss him. "It's alright, Tamaki. You'll only be gone for three days. Everything will be fine. Trust me, okay?"

He sighed and pulled his wife into a hug. "Alright. I'll be back as soon as possible. Call me if you need me." Tamaki started to leave, but glanced back for a moment. "I love you, Haruhi."

Haruhi smiled. "I love you too. Now go, or you're gonna miss your flight."

And with that, he was gone. Tamaki had to travel back to Japan for the weekend for a business meeting. The Suoh group was about to complete a major deal with a new and upcoming company in Japan, and Tamaki, being the current head of the Suoh group ever since his father decided to retire four years ago, had to attend to oversee the completion of the deal.

Haruhi had gotten used to Tamaki's occasional trip. And in all honesty, the alone time was nice. She was able to relax and focus on work. She didn't have to deal with his constant doting and melodramatic tendencies. It was especially nice to get away from all of that now, because of her pregnancy. Tamaki was overprotective with her normally, but ever since he found out that she was pregnant, he would barely let her leave the house without him by her side.

She walked over to the couch and sat down. "Finally," she sighed. Haruhi relaxed on the couch, placed her hands on her now swollen stomach, and slowly closed her eyes.

_*Bzzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz*_

Her eyes shot open and she groaned angrily at the sound of her phone. "If that is Tamaki, I swear I'm going to kill him. He just left five minutes ago."

She picked up her phone and looked at the caller ID. "Oh. It's just Hikaru." She sighed in relief and answered the call.

"Hey, Hikaru. What's up?"

 _"Oh hey. Are you busy right now?"_ He sounded a bit different than usual. He sounded . . . worried? Panicked? It was hard to say, but something was different.

"No, actually, I'm not. Tamaki just left for Japan for the weekend, so I'm just here relaxing. Is everything alright?"

_"What? Oh yeah, everything's great! Is it alright if I come over? I wanted to talk to you about something."_

"Here. How about I come over there? I need some fresh air anyways."

 _"Oh."_ He paused for a moment. " _If you want to, sure. I mean, I was just thinking that since you're six months and all-"_

Haruhi laughed into the phone. "Hikaru, it's fine, really. I'll be over soon, okay?"

A faint sigh was heard from the other line. " _Alright. I'll see you soon."_

With a click, the call was over.

Haruhi pulled the phone away from her face and looked at it questioningly. "Well that was weird."

* * *

* _Knock knock knock*_

Hikaru was finishing getting dressed when he heard a knock at the door.

"Hmm? Who's at the door?" Chris sat up in Hikaru's bed and rubbed his eyes sleepily.

The twin finished by buttoning his pants and glanced back at Chris. "It's just Haruhi."

The blond opened his eyes fully and smiled. "Oh, I didn't know she was coming over." He started to get up when Hikaru stopped him.

"No. You're staying here. Go back to sleep or something." He started to leave the room to get the door.

Chris sat back down. "But why?"

Hikaru turned the door knob. "Just don't worry about it okay. I just need to talk to her for a minute."

_*Knock knock knock*_

"Don't tell me she still doesn't know! Come on Hikaru, how long are you going to keep this a secret. You won't even let me tell Nat or Kaoru . . ."

The twin opened the door but didn't move. "Just- Stay here alright."

Hikaru left his room and closed the door behind him. He went to his front door and opened it to see a rather pregnant Haruhi smiling up at him.

"Hey, Hikaru. I haven't seen you much in the past few months."

Hikaru smiled back and opened the door to let her in. "Come on in, Haruhi. Yeah, sorry about that. I've been kinda busy."

Haruhi walked in and sat down on the couch. "Oh, really? With what?"

The twin cleared his throat awkwardly and sat down next to her. "Oh. Just . . . Stuff."

She took of her coat and set it down next to her. "Alright . . . So what did you want to talk about? You sounded kind of weird on the phone."

Hikaru rubbed the back of his neck and looked at his lap. "Well uh. I wanted to talk about . . . Like . . . Us."

Haruhi looked over at the twin, confused. "What do you mean us?"

He sighed and looked over at her. "Well . . . You know how I had a thing for you in high school? And for a while after . . . Like until a few months ago?"

She looked as if that was a stupid question. "Of course. I mean. It did cause a lot of tension between you and Tamaki especially. Why?"

Hikaru stood up and started pacing while he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Hikaru, are you alright? You're acting really strange. Are you drunk?"

That last question caused Hikaru to completely freeze.

"Haruhi, you know how I act when I'm drunk. I actually haven't gotten legitimately drunk since your wedding."

She sighed. "Well then, what's wrong? You never act like this."

He began pacing again. After a moment he stopped and faced Haruhi.

"The thing is. . ." He began to blush deeply. "I- ugh. I think you are the only woman I could ever love."

He spat the last words out rapidly in a slight panic. Haruhi tilted her head in confusion.

"I think you're being a bit dramatic. There has to be some other girl out there that you'll fall in love with."

Hikaru groaned and started pacing again. "No. That's not what I meant. I mean that you are the only _woman_ that I could ever love." He put a bit of emphasis on 'woman.'

Haruhi sighed. "Well Hikaru, I guess you're out of luck then. I mean, I am married to Tamaki and pregnant with his child. He's the one I love, I'm sorry."

Hikaru's jaw dropped slightly. _"How could she be so oblivious to what I'm trying to say?"_

His pacing became more rapid and his blush began to darken. As he paced more and more, he began to mumble to himself. "He said it wouldn't be this difficult. He said everyone would understand. He's the one that wanted me to tell people. Why is this so damn difficult right now?"

Haruhi stood up in front of Hikaru and spoke at him, slightly agitated. "Hikaru, what the hell is going on? You are acting really weird right now and it's freaking me out!"

Hikaru opened his mouth to speak when he heard his door open. A moment later, Chris emerged from the bedroom in a t-shirt and boxers. "Hikaru, what the hell are you doing to make Haruhi yell at you?!"

Haruhi turned around at the sound of Chris's voice and her eyes widened. "Chris? What are you doing here?"

The twin groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. "Haruhi, this is what I was trying to say . . . This is what I've been 'busy' with for the past few months."

Chris walked over to Haruhi and kissed her on the cheek. "You look great, Haruhi. How's the baby?"

She looked at Chris, then back to Hikaru, her eyes still wide. "Wha- Wait. So you're? You two are?"

Chris then walked over to Hikaru and put his arm around the twin's waist.

Hikaru blushed more and rubbed the back of his neck again. "Yeah. Chris is my- I-I'm his . . . "

The blond man smiled and laughed. "We're dating, Haruhi. We have been, pretty much since you're wedding. We just didn't tell anyone because princess pouty here was too afraid to tell all of you. Especially you."

After a moment of silence, Haruhi smiled and laughed. "You could've told me earlier, you know."

Hikaru looked at Haruhi, surprised. "Wait. So you mean you're completely okay with this?"

She laughed at the twin's question. "Why wouldn't I be? You know this doesn't matter to me. You love each other, right?" Hikaru blushed once more and looked down in embarrassment. "Why should who you love matter to me? You are both my friends. And Hikaru you are one of my best friends. I'm just glad you're finally happy and getting your life together."

She walked over to the twin and pulled him into a hug, which was a bit difficult at first because of her pregnancy. Haruhi smiled and held the embrace. "I'm just happy that you're finally okay."

Hikaru smiled and let out a faint laugh. "Thank you, Haruhi. I am too."

"Damn. I should have gotten that on camera." Chris laughed as he watched the two hug. "That could have been the beginnings of a great romantic comedy."

The two pulled apart and laughed at the blond. Chris then walked back over to Hikaru and wrapped his arm back around the twin's waist. He smiled and kissed Hikaru on the cheek. "See. I told you she'd be fine with it. You should have learned to trust my judgment by now, ya know."

Haruhi laughed and smiled at the two. "I can tell that you two make each other really happy." She picked up her coat from the couch and put it back on. "I'll go now, okay? I am really happy for you two."

"Well, I mean you don't have to leave if you don't want to." Hikaru looked over at Haruhi.

She smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear. "In all honesty, I really want to get in some quiet time before Tamaki gets back. So, I think I'll just head home and relax. But you can call me anytime, alright?"

The twin walked over to Haruhi. "Do you want me to walk you out? Are you gonna be alright getting home?"

The brunette sighed and laughed. "Hikaru, I'm pregnant. I'm not dying. I can get home just fine."

"Alright. Well, call us if you need anything." He walked to the door with her and held it open as she left.

She walked out the door and glanced back at the twin. "Will do! I'll see you- Well whenever, I guess!"

And with that she was gone.

Hikaru closed the door and walked back over to Chris, who was smirking at him now. "Now was that so hard, Princess Pouty."

The twin laughed and linked both of his hands with Chris's. "You know you can stop calling me that whenever you want."

"Well now that you say that, I don't think I wanna stop, Princess Pouty." He leaned forward and kissed Hikaru on the lips. "So, can we actually tell people now?"

The twin unlinked their hands and went to plop down on the couch. He sighed and put his feet up on the coffee table. "Yeah. I guess so. If you really want to."

Chris laughed and sat on the opposite side of the couch and stretched his legs across Hikaru's lap. "Okay, so I'll tell Nat. You tell Kaoru."

* * *

**_Three Days Later – November 20_ ** **_th_ ** **_, 2015_ **

**"** _Hey, I just got back. I should be home in about twenty minutes. Will you wait up for me?"_

"Yeah, of course, Tamaki. I'll just watch some TV in the living room until you get here."

_"I mean, you can go to sleep if you want to. I know it's already 2am. If you're tired, you should rest."_

She laughed tiredly into the phone. "No, it's fine. I'll wait up. I promise."

_"Alright. I'll be home soon, Haruhi."_

"Okay. See you soon. Bye."

The phone went off with a click. Haruhi was in one of Tamaki's larger t-shirts and a pair of shorts because her usual night shirts didn't fit her this far into the pregnancy. She walked down the stairs and settled on the couch before turning the television on. She just turned it to the news channel since nothing else was on at this hour.

Twenty minutes eventually passed, but Tamaki still wasn't home. Instead she heard her phone buzz notifying her of a text message.

**_Tamaki 2:23 am – Sorry, there's a bit of traffic. I think it's from people traveling for that Thanksgiving holiday week. Be home soon._ **

_**Haruhi 2:24 am – It's alright. I'm still awake don't worry. See you soon.** _

After about ten more minutes of waiting Haruhi ended up falling asleep on the couch.

Five minutes after Haruhi fell asleep, Tamaki got home.

The blond man opened the door quietly and noticed his wife asleep on the couch. He chuckled quietly, set his bags down, and went over to her. She was peacefully asleep with one arm under her head, acting as a pillow, and the other arm propped on her swollen stomach.He knelt down in front of the couch and gently shook her shoulder. "Haruhi. Come on, let's go to bed."

The brunette slowly opened her eyes and smiled at her husband. "Sorry. I guess I ended up falling asleep." She sat up and stretched while yawning.

Tamaki helped Haruhi stand up and the two made their way to the stairs. "So how was the trip?" She looked up at Tamaki and smiled.

He shrugged and took her hand in his. "Boring. Tedious." He kissed the top of her head. "Lonely. How was your weekend?"

She laughed and leaned on his arm. "Pretty relaxing. I went over to Hikaru's the day you left."

Tamaki looked questioningly at Haruhi. "Why? Did something happen?"

They got to the top of the steps and then to their bedroom door. "No. Well, yes. But nothing bad. He just wanted to talk about him and Chris."

He opened the door and walked over to the dresser to change into pajamas. "Wait. What?"

Haruhi went to lie down on the bed and she pulled the covers up to her chin. "Yeah. They're dating now. Actually they have been ever since our wedding night. But they just told me the other day."

Tamaki walked over and pulled himself under the covers once he finished changing. "We'll are they happy together?"

She smiled and moved a little closer to Tamaki. "They're really happy together. I think Hikaru is finally gonna be okay."

He laughed and kissed Haruhi on the lips. "Well, I mean. It's about time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there you have it folks. Hikaru and Chris are officially together! Wooo! Okay so there will be more Tamaharu pregnancy silliness to come and then Kyoya will be back yaaaaaaaaaaaaay! I'm very excited for Kyoya.
> 
> Okay anyways, please review!


	12. Expect the Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The doctor in this chapter is me. I personally relate. Enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers! I have decided to make this a long master chapter of tooth rotting fluff and pregnancy shenanigans! This chapter contains ONLY TAMAHARU no other ships. I will have other couples in the next chapter and so on. I believe the next chapter will be another fluffy one but I think it'll be Hikaris because I absolutely love my made up couple.
> 
> Alright so enjoy the toothrotting fluff and Tamaki being 10000000% done with this whole pregnancy thing at the beginning of this chapter.
> 
> Enjoy!

**_November 29_ ** **_th_ ** **_, 2015_ **

Haruhi was lying on the couch reading a book. Her legs were stretched across Tamaki's lap. He sat on the couch with his feet propped on the coffee table. Tamaki was randomly flipping through the channels on the television with one hand and gently massaging his wife's feet with the other.

"I think we should go to the beach." Haruhi spoke plainly as she continued to flip through the pages of her book.

Tamaki looked over at her. "We went to the beach last month, Haruhi. And you just complained most of the time because you actually wanted to go swimming but you claimed that you couldn't because," he raised his hand from Haruhi's legs and created air quotes, "you were 'too fat to wear a bathing suit.'"

The two of them were in love. They had been for almost a decade. And for as long as he can remember, Tamaki knew that he wanted to marry and have a family with Haruhi. But he never thought about how difficult getting to the family would be. Haruhi had three moods when she was pregnant: sad and angry, happy and loving, or just her normal self. Unfortunately for Tamaki, the sad and angry Haruhi was the one that he usually had to deal with.

Over the past six months, ever since Haruhi first got pregnant, these mood swings just got worse and worse. At about the four month mark, Haruhi started pulling the 'I'm so fat and I hate myself' card almost daily. The two of them were in love. Really in love. But by this point in the pregnancy, Tamaki had completely given up with trying to dull the mood swings.

He loved her. He really did. But his sanity was on a thin string that was about to snap. So when times like this came around, he spoke plainly and calmly. But he didn't focus on the eggshells that he was walking on anymore.

Haruhi pulled the book closer to her face and frowned. "Well I am."

Tamaki sighed and began flipping through the channels once more. Nothing seemed to be even the slightest bit interesting today. "Haruhi, you're six months pregnant. You aren't fat. You are carrying a baby that is nearly fully developed."

Haruhi closed her book and pulled her feet away from Tamaki. She sat up on the couch and crossed her arms over her stomach. "It's not like I wanted to get pregnant! You're the one that did this to me." She refused to look at her husband.

He leaned his head back and wiped his hand over his face while he groaned. He then stood up and looked at Haruhi with a blank expression. "Yes. You're right. I am the one who got you pregnant. You are carrying my child. You are absolutely correct."

He started walking towards the kitchen when Haruhi called for him. "Wait! Tamaki," her voice had a bit of a whine to it, "where are you going?"

Tamaki turned back to face Haruhi and saw that she had a little pout on her face. He sighed once more and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm going to make some lunch. Would you like anything specific?"

Haruhi knit her eyebrows in thought. After a short moment she looked back up at Tamaki, "Hm. Nope. You choose this time."

Tamaki nodded and walked into the kitchen. About ten minutes later Tamaki walked back into the living room with two grilled cheese sandwiches. Ever since they moved to Boston, Tamaki had become fascinated with American cuisine, no matter how simple it may be. And grilled cheese happened to be a personal favorite of his, partially because it was so simple to make.

The blond walked over to Haruhi and handed her the plate before sitting back down next to her. He began to eat his own sandwich as he flipped through the channels yet again.

Haruhi took the plate and frowned. After a moment, Tamaki noticed that she wasn't eating. "What? Did you want something different?"

She sighed and looked over at Tamaki. "I was hoping you would make some tuna."

Tamaki let out a quiet laugh. "You said that I could pick what we had for lunch, so I did. You know I would've made you tuna if you would've asked."

Haruhi scooted closer to Tamaki and kissed him on the cheek. "I know. I still like grilled cheese too."

Once the two finished eating, Haruhi leaned her head on Tamaki's chest as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

After a few minutes of watching some random movie that neither of them was really interested in, Haruhi let out a faint gasp and brought her hand to her stomach.

Tamaki quickly looked down at Haruhi as panic washed over him. "What? I-is something wrong? Did something happen?"

She laughed and grabbed Tamaki's free hand, bringing it over to her stomach. "Everything is fine. Just feel this. The baby's kicking."

Tamaki placed his hand on his wife's stomach and his eyes widened as he did so. Sure enough, the baby was kicking. Haruhi had told him about it happening before, but Tamaki always seemed to be somewhere else when it happened. Whether it be downstairs, while she was in their room, or out of the house, running the errands that he refused to let her do at the time. He just didn't have the best luck when it came to feeling the baby kick.

Tamaki looked back at Haruhi, who was smiling up at him. "This doesn't hurt you at all?"

Haruhi laughed and leaned her head back on Tamaki's shoulder. "Not really, no. I mean, sometimes he . . . or maybe she . . . kicks pretty hard so it hurts, but usually it just feels a little funny. I don't really mind it."

He removed his hand and then used it to brush Haruhi's hair behind her ear. "Haruhi?"

"Hm?"

"Why don't we know the gender yet? Is there a specific reason as to why you haven't found out yet?"

She shrugged and placed both hands back on her stomach. "I dunno. When I first went to the doctor, I could've found out, but I wanted to be surprised. I actually have an appointment scheduled for this afternoon. I made it just in case I needed it, but I was going to cancel it because I don't need it. . . I can keep the appointment and you can come with me if you want."

Tamaki smiled and kissed Haruhi on the lips. "That would be wonderful. What time is it scheduled?"

"Two o'clock. What time is it now?"

Tamaki stood up and held out his hand to help Haruhi up. "Well it's One right now. So I guess we should get ready to go."

* * *

"Everything seems normal and healthy. No abnormalities or anything like that. So, if everything stays that way, which is the most probable and plausible outcome, then you should still be set to give birth in a little less than three months. Everything should be normal."

Haruhi smiled as Tamaki held her hand. "That's great, Doctor. I honestly didn't suspect anything would be wrong, though."

"Then, may I ask why you kept this appointment? Was it just as a check up to make sure everything was as it should be?"

"Actually. We-" She paused and gestured to Tamaki. "-well, he wants to know the gender. That's why I kept this appointment."

The doctor laughed and stood up from his chair. "I thought that might be why. I have it in the records, but I didn't tell you as requested. I just happened to mark it down." He opened up a small file and looked through it for a moment. "Let's see. At your first appointment, I had it marked down that you have a boy-"

Tamaki smiled wide and squeezed Haruhi's hand tighter. "Can you believe it, Haruhi?! We're gonna have a cute little baby boy!"

The doctor looked up from the file at Haruhi and Tamaki, noticing that they didn't realize they interrupted him. He cleared his throat and continued. "-and a girl."

"Wait what?!" The two turned back to the doctor and spoke in unison.

Haruhi's eyes widened. "What do you mean 'and a girl?'"

Tamaki looked down at Haruhi. "That would mean you're having-"

"Twins, yes. I could have sworn that I told you that at your last visit. Or maybe I took the whole 'not telling you the gender' thing as a no go for the information about how many you're having too. That is pretty unprofessional of me, wow."

"Wait. So I'm actually pregnant with twins?" Haruhi looked terrified. Tamaki did too. The only thing the two of them were thinking about was Hikaru and Kaoru.

"Yep. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Suoh. The two of you are having twins."

* * *

That night, Tamaki and Haruhi lay in bed staring at the dark ceiling.

Tamaki spoke first.

"Twins, huh . . . That was kind of unexpected."

"Yeah. I guess we're gonna have two kids soon. I mean people always say to expect the unexpected."

"All I can think about is-"

"Hikaru and Kaoru. I know, me too."

"I just don't want what happened to them to happen to our kids. I know they've started to get back in each other's lives but still. Hikaru was a mess for so long and still is sometimes."

"I don't think we'd let that happen, Tamaki. And anyways, at least they aren't the same gender."

He turned to face his wife. "Haruhi, are you scared to raise these children?"

She continued to stare at the ceiling. "I already said I was when I first found out I was pregnant." Haruhi turned to Tamaki and smiled at him. "But, I'm actually happy and excited. Having a real family with you is going to be really fun."

Tamaki laughed and pecked her on the lips. "And not to mention those twins will be absolutely adorable because they're yours."

Haruhi laughed and kissed him back. "Well, you know you helped so they're yours too. And I think a little blond baby would be adorable-" she kissed him again, "-just like you."

He pulled his wife into a hug and smiled. "Let's just agree that we're gonna love these babies so much that they'll probably think we're suffocating them."

Haruhi laughed again. "You know, you're probably right."

* * *

**_February 22, 2016 – A little less than a week from Haruhi's due date._ **

"Ugh." Haruhi groaned as she got out of bed that morning. Everything was sore. Her back hurt, her feet hurt, her legs and sides hurt. What else could she expect, though? She was due in about a week. And her stomach was huge, what with her being pregnant with two babies instead of just one. She was fit to burst.

Tamaki was already awake and making breakfast downstairs. Haruhi was about to question where he was when she heard him downstairs. She stretched and yawned before making her way, rather slowly, downstairs. With one hand on her back and the other on the railing to the stairs, Haruhi made her way down the steps and into the kitchen where she sat at one of the stools at the island and watched her husband cook.

Tamaki noticed Haruhi come downstairs and frowned at her. "Haruhi darling. You know you didn't have to get up, I was planning on bringing this to you in bed. I don't want you hurting yourself."

Haruhi laughed and yawned again. "You should know by now that I hate laying in bed all day."

After a few moments, Tamaki finished cooking and the two ate at the island in the kitchen.

"That was delicious, Tamaki. Thank you." Haruhi leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, causing him to smile and kiss her back.

"Anything for you, my princess."

Haruhi laughed and got up from the stool. "You know you might as well start calling me queen if you're gonna stick to this whole royalty thing. Soon enough, you're going to have a new little princess running around here. And a prince too."

Tamaki laughed and pulled Haruhi into a hug. "As you wish, my queen." He then placed his hands on Haruhi's stomach and smiled. "You two have the greatest mother in the world, my prince and princess."

She placed her hands over his and smiled up at him. "And the best father. Don't sell yourself too short, Tamaki."

He kissed her once more and she began to move back towards the stairs. "I think I'm gonna get dressed now."

Tamaki rushed to help her up the stairs. "Let me help you, Haruhi. I don't want you getting hurt."

She sighed and smiled at him. "It's alright. I can make it up the stairs. Thanks though."

He nodded in trust and went back to the kitchen to clean up breakfast.

After a few minutes of Tamaki cleaning up, he heard Haruhi call for him.

" _TAMAKI!"_ She sounded panicked. Tamaki dropped everything he was doing and ran upstairs to their bedroom.

He swung the door open and saw Haruhi, wide-eyed, emerging from the bathroom. "What?! What's wrong?! Are you alright?!"

"You know how we talked about expecting the unexpected when we found out that I'm having twins?"

Tamaki walked over to her. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, because it seems like our prince and princess will be arriving sooner than expected."

His eyes went wide and his face turned pale. "Wait. You mean you're-"

"TAMAKI JUST GET ME TO A FUCKING HOSPITAL!" Haruhi rarely swore like that, so Tamaki knew it was really happening. He slipped his shoes on and ran over to her. He picked her up bridal style with much ease, considering how pregnant she was, and carried her downstairs.

He set her down for moment only to grab his keys and lock the door. Soon enough, they were on their way to the hospital.

* * *

"Just a few more times! Hang in there! Push!"

The more she had to push, the tighter her grip on Tamaki's hand got. The longer it went on, the louder she screamed.

Tamaki was sweating almost as much as his wife was. His hand felt like it had been run over by a truck, he had no idea how to comfort Haruhi in any way, and this whole process was terrifying to him. Everything was happening so fast and all at once. He felt like he was the one that was about to pass out.

Haruhi noticed his reaction and angrily pulled him close to her by the collar of his shirt. "If you fucking pass out, so help me Tamaki. Snap out of it already!"

It was time to push again. Haruhi released her grip on her husband's shirt, but not on his hand. She screamed as she pushed once more and glared at Tamaki. "YOU DID THIS TO ME!"

Tamaki did his best to snap out of his trance as he knelt next to the hospital bed and kissed Haruhi's tightened grip on his hand. "It's gonna be alright, darling. Just a little bit longer and everything will be done. We're going to have a little prince and princess running around soon, remember?"

She screamed and pushed again. At this point Tamaki's hand was completely numb. After Haruhi finished pushing, the cries of a newborn could be heard.

"It's a boy!"

Tamaki smiled and wiped Haruhi's sweaty bangs from her face as he kissed her forehead. "Haruhi! Our little prince has arrived! Isn't that wonderful!?"

Haruhi gave a weak smile and a faint laugh. "Yeah it is."

There moment of calm happiness was soon interrupted by yet another contraction and another push.

After ten more minutes of screaming, blaming, and hand crushing, the cries of another newborn could be heard.

"It's a girl!"

Tamaki cupped his wife's face in his non-crushed hand and smiled at her. "Haruhi. It's over now. Our princess is finally here too. You can relax now."

She smiled and held his hand against her face as he kissed her. A few moments later, the nurse brought over two cleaned and bundled up newborns. She handed them to Haruhi, and Haruhi took one in each arm.

Both twins had small amounts of straight hair. But the boy had brown hair, like his mother, and the girl had pale blond hair, like her father. The boy had pale violet eyes that would most likely become more vivid with time, and the girl had big beautiful brown eyes that looked around the room with complete curiosity.

Haruhi began to cry as she held them in her arms.

"Haruhi, what's wrong?"

She laughed quietly and looked up at Tamaki. "They're so beautiful. They look like both of us. A perfect mix of both of us." She motioned to the baby girl and looked back at Tamaki. "She has your blond hair, Tamaki."

He then picked his newborn daughter up and cradled her in his arms. He smiled and kissed her forehead. "And she has your eyes. I love those eyes." Tamaki then motioned to the boy in Haruhi's arms. "Our little prince has your dark hair."

She smiled and brushed her thumb along the boy's chubby cheek. "And your eyes." She looked up at Tamaki, smiled, and repeated his words. "I love those eyes."

"What should we name them?"

Haruhi looked back at the boy in her arms and smiled. "I want something French. I like your French name, and I want them to know where their dad grew up."

He thought for a moment and then looked back at Haruhi. "What about Antoine. That's a nice French name. Antoine Kaede. Kaede for the beautiful maple tree in our back yard. The one we got married under."

Haruhi looked up at her husband and smiled. "I love it. It's a perfect mix of French and Japanese. Just like they're a perfect mix of us."

"So, if we are going to stick with the perfect mix trend, what should we name our little princess?"

Haruhi looked at the little girl in Tamaki's arms. "I've always loved the name Akemi. So her first name can be Akemi, and her middle name can be something French."

"Elise. My mother told me how she has always loved the name Elise. She said that she's never met an Elise that wasn't beautiful on the inside and out."

Haruhi used her free hand to link it with one of Tamaki's hands. "It's beautiful."

He sat down at the edge of the bed next to her and smiled. "So we have our prince and princess. The handsome Antoine Kaede Suoh, and the beautiful Akemi Elise Suoh."

She leaned forward with Antoine still in her arms and kissed Tamaki. "They're beautiful, my king."

He kissed her back and laughed. "Just like you, my queen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for tooth rotting fluff! I originally wasn't going to have the birth in this chapter but I just said fuck it and decided to write it.
> 
> And I chose those names because I love them all. (PS Kaede is a UNISEX name so don't even try to tell me it's a girls name cuz I do my research.) So I hope you like them too!
> 
> Okay so I know this is a long ways away but I want to warn all of my readers.
> 
> So here goes: Quite a few chapters from now (i don't know when it's just gonna be placed about 6 years from when this chapter took place) I will have a VERY VERY ANGSTY AND SAD chapter so beware and don't hate me when it happens alright!
> 
> But for now it will just be fluff and regular angst throughout. Also, I will be adding more babies as I go along and small filler chapters here and there checking in with the rest of the hosts lives.
> 
> So keep reading and reviewing! Thanks!


	13. Catch-up Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I kinda lied a little bit about this chapter being Hikaris. I mean they are in this chapter, yeah, but so are a few other couples.
> 
> I decided to make this a cute little chapter of all the other couples and where they are now. So I have Takashi and Sofia (with mention of Honi and Reiko because I find it so hard to actually write for them) , Mei and Kasanoda, Kaoru and Natalia, Hikaru and Christian, and Kyoya and ? You will find out!
> 
> Ps - the end of the chapter is the beginning of the rest of Kyoya's storyline that I promised. It's like "woah what" so yeah have fun!
> 
> Enjoy!

"Takashi, how are Mitsukuni and Reiko doing?" Sofia swung her feet as she sat on the counter watching her husband fix their kitchen table.

He continued fixing the table. "We just saw them yesterday."

"Well yeah I know that. But something could've happened between now and then."

Takashi got up once he finished fixing the table and shrugged. "They were doing well yesterday. So I guess they're doing well today, too."

Sofia hopped off of the counter and stood on her toes to kiss her husband. "You're probably right." She grabbed Takashi's hand and started leading him out of the kitchen. "It's almost sunset. Why don't we go outside and watch?"

"Okay." Takashi nodded and followed his wife outside.

The two sat on the edge of the porch and watched the sun set. Sofia was leaning against Takashi's chest as he had his arm wrapped around her and their hands were intertwined.

"Isn't it so beautiful? I always used to watch the sunset from the beach back home. My brother and sister always said that I was dumb for caring about something so boring."

He looked over at her. "I don't think it's boring. It's peaceful and beautiful . . . like you."

She giggled and leaned more into her husband. They sat in silence for a few more moments before Sofia spoke again.

"Takashi?" Sofia spoke calmly as she watched the sunset.

"Hm?" He looked down at her.

"Tamaki and Haruhi just had twins, you know."

He nodded and looked back at the horizon. "Yeah, they did. A boy and a girl, right?"

Sofia nodded. "Yeah."

She looked down at their hands and traced his knuckles with her small thumb. "Well, it got me thinking about something."

"About what?"

Sofia looked up at Takashi as a faint blush crept across her cheeks. "I want to have a baby, too. Can . . . Can we have a baby too, Takashi?"

He smiled and nodded. "Sure. Let's do it."

Sofia smiled wide and laughed. "Really?!"

He nodded again and laughed. Sofia then jumped up and threw her arms around Takashi's neck.

She hugged him tight and then kissed him. "We get to have a baby, Takashi! We're gonna start a family together!"

* * *

"Come on! Wake up!" Mei shook Ritsu angrily.

He groaned and rolled over in bed. "Just let me sleep, dammit."

She went over and sat on the dresser at the front of the room. "If you don't wake up, I'm going to start throwing things at you."

He groaned again but still didn't get up.

She picked up a hat and threw it at him. "Ritsu."

A bracelet. "Kasanoda."

A belt. "Sissy gangster."

A book. "Cry baby."

A pair of shoes. "Asshole! Get the hell up!"

Kasanoda sat up angrily and yelled at his girlfriend. "What the hell, Mei! Can't a man get any damn sleep around here!?"

As soon as he even slightly began to raise his voice, Mei death-glared at him. "Get. Up."

He shrunk in fear and caved. "Alright. Fine. I'm getting up. Don't friggen kill me, alright?"

Mei hopped off of the dresser and laughed. "I'll be waiting in the car."

"What? Why?"

"You're taking me shopping. I want to go buy my best friend a gift."

Ritsu laughed as he got dressed. "Awe, Mei. You don't have to. Your presence is the best gift I could ever ask for."

She scoffed and threw his keys at him. "Best friend is not the same as boyfriend, jackass. I'm gonna get something for Haruhi's twins. I only knit something for one so I might as well just buy something for the both of them."

He caught the keys and finished getting dressed. "I thought you said she was having A baby. Not two."

"Well if you pay attention to anything, you'll see that I just said 'twins.' She found out when she was like six months or something. Haruhi just had the twins a few days ago. Antoine and Akemi. A boy and a girl."

She turned and walked out of the room. "Now I'll be waiting in the car, like I said five minutes ago. Hurry the hell up."

"Alright alright. I'll be there in a minute."

* * *

"And then this one lady had the nerve to tell me I didn't know what I was talking about! I mean, did she even know who she was talking to? Did she even know who my mother is?" Kaoru ranted from his and Natalia's bedroom while she got ready for bed in the bathroom.

"And this lady said all of this because you turned down her designs?" She walked into the room and sat next to her husband on the bed.

"Exactly. I guess she just didn't understand that there is a lot of rejection in this industry. Like acting."

Nat faced Kaoru and locked their hands together. "I feel like I've dealt with that woman before. You said she was really tall and scary looking, right? And she had really long pin-straight blonde hair and a really funny accent?"

He looked over at his wife. "Yeah that's her."

Natalia laughed and moved in closer to her husband. "Then yeah, I used to deal with her all the time with my mom. She's crazy and doesn't know when to give up. I guess I have to give it to her for being so perseverant."

Kaoru laughed and kissed the top of Nat's head. "Yeah, you have a point there."

She moved close enough to lean on Kaoru's chest and looked up at him. "You know, when you rant like that, you kinda sound like Hikaru."

He smiled and let out a quiet laugh. "Well we are identical twins, Hun. It only makes sense that we resemble each other in more ways than one. Especially since we grew up closer than most siblings."

She rolled her eyes and moved back into her side of the bed. "I know. That's kinda why Hikaru treated me so terrible for the past five years, right? Because apparently I was-" She used her fingers as air quotes, "-'taking you away from him.' I'm just glad he doesn't completely hate me anymore. And now that he's with Christian, he has no choice but to get along with me."

Kaoru rolled over to face his wife. "Aw, come on Nat. You don't need to be so hard on him. Hikaru's always been bad at handling his feelings."

"I'm not being harsh, Kaoru. He treated me like garbage."

He sighed. "Alright, fine it was pretty bad. But he's getting better now."

"I know, Hun. I said that. And like I said, I have Chris to help with that now, too."

"I just think it's funny that he was so in love with our best friend for the longest time and then he ended up falling for your best friend. I kind of expected something like that to happen though. I mean they completely hit it off at our engagement dinner, remember?"

She laughed and nodded. "Yeah I did notice that. They were in their own little world the entire time! But I didn't mind. Both of them really needed that. Chris was getting on my last nerve with his little 'forever alone' pity parties he had. He kept talking about how it's sooooo much harder to find someone when you're gay. And I just kept telling him to be patient, but ya know patient just isn't in his nature."

Kaoru moved closer to Natalia and kissed her on the lips. "I'm just glad we don't have to worry about them anymore." He kissed her again, this time more passionately. "Now we can focus on us and have some real alone time now that Chris moved out of here and in with Hikaru."

She put her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him into another heated lip-lock. "Mmm. I'm really liking the sound of that. _Alone time._ I think I can get used to that."

* * *

"We aren't gonna go over to Tamaki and Haruhi's today, right?"

Hikaru didn't look away from the game he was playing on the television. "No. Unless you want to. I didn't really plan on going anywhere today."

Chris walked over and sat next to Hikaru. "Haven't you beaten this one already?"

"Yeah. I'm just bored so I thought I'd try and beat it faster than I did last time."

He laughed and got back up and walked over to the bathroom.

"Chris, what are you even doing in there?"

"I'm doing my hair, why?"

Hikaru didn't answer; he was too focused on the game he was playing.

A few minutes later, Chris emerged from the bathroom again with his hair matted down, a towel around his neck and a box in his hand.

"What the hell are you doing to your hair?"

"I'm dying it. Nothing drastic. I'm just lightening it a shade or two." He looked at the box in his hand. "Hey you've dyed your hair before, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I don't know how long to keep this in. It says all of these different times but they're all for long hair. And I don't want to overdo it."

Hikaru paused the game and looked back at his boyfriend. "Well, I have no idea how to use that cheap shit. Why'd you buy that anyways?"

Chris rolled his eyes and sat down next to Hikaru. "Well, not all of us have personal hair dressers that we can summon at the snap of our fingers, your highness."

Hikaru sighed and fell all the way back onto the couch to where he was on his back. "Why are you dying your hair anyways? I think the color it is now is fine."

"I want it to be more blond. Like not dirty blond like it is now, but like ash blond maybe."

Hikaru laughed. "You're ridiculous. You know there isn't that much of a difference between dirty blond and ash blond, right?"

"There is when you have dark dirty blond hair like me!"

He got up off the couch and walked back to the bathroom attached to the bedroom. "I'll be in the bathroom. Finish that stupid game already."

Hikaru sat up and began playing the game again.

About thirty minutes later, Chris came back into the living room and sat down next to Hikaru.

The older twin looked over at Chris and sighed. "I barely see any difference. . . "

"You're just blind then. It is definitely lighter than it was."

He sighed and turned the game off because he had just beaten it. "Alright, whatever you say."

Chris scooted closer to Hikaru and leaned against his shoulder. "You like it though, right?"

"Well yeah. I've always liked your hair. Even before you cut it. But I do have to say, I really like the short hair better."

Chris pulled Hikaru into a quick kiss. "Well, if we're on the subject of what we prefer-" He rubbed his hand over Hikaru's cleanly shaven cheek. "I don't like it when you're all clean cut like that. You should keep the stubble."

Hikaru laughed and pulled Chris back into another kiss. "Shaving is really annoying, so I think I can manage with the stubble. As long as you keep yours too."

Chris leaned into a longer kiss and smirked against Hikaru's lips. "Deal."

* * *

* _Ding dong. Ding dong.*_

"Who the hell is at my house this late?" Kyoya angrily sat up in bed and put his glassed on. He looked at the clock on his phone and groaned. "It's five am. Who the hell needs me at five am?"

* _Ding dong. Ding dong.*_

He got up slowly and _eventually_ made his way to his front door.

"The one day I finally get to sleep early . . . If this is one of Tamaki's damn surprise visits, I'm going to kill him."

He opened the door to reveal a beautiful young woman, around the age of 25, with pale blue eyes, ivory skin, and long loose copper curls that framed her seemingly delicate face with such ease. She was about five feet six inches tall, and her smile was small but bright as she looked up at Kyoya.

"Hello, Kyoya. Sorry to wake you at this hour. I forgot about the time differences in France and Japan."

Kyoya's eyes widened. Now he was fully awake. "Samantha. What are you doing here?" He let her in the house. "I thought we weren't going to see each other again until next month.

He was so shocked that he didn't even notice that the woman's physical appearance had changed. Not her face, but her body.

Samantha sighed and brought her hands to her stomach. "Well, I know that's what we planned. But . . . the situation has changed since the last time we saw each other."

_It wasn't Tamaki. But when he realized who it was and why she was there, he was kind of wishing the blond moron would have showed up instead._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow so yeah I had fun with that last part. This was mainly a bunch of nonsense from all of the couples.
> 
> Well except for Kyoya.
> 
> So I'm pretty sure you all can guess why the lovely Samantha is at Kyoya's house at 5 am. It really isn't that hard to tell.
> 
> So yeah the face claim I'm gonna use for Samantha (her last name is Moreau in case you were wondering) is just one that I found on google images. I couldn't find a name of the girl in the picture but this is what I see whenever I think of her (CLICK HERE)
> 
> So anyways, thanks for the continued support by reading!
> 
> Please review!


	14. Trouble In Paradise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, readers! I know this is a bit late for me posting this chapter but my internet has been complete shit for the past 3 days on my laptop sooooo yah.
> 
> Anyways, here is a lovely angsty chapter about babies.
> 
> I felt like this chapter was necessary because of the fact that even though Tamaki and Haruhi are really really in love, they are still newly weds and new parents as well. So the stress is on full force with them. So her is a pretty damn long Tamaharu chapter.
> 
> And I know this is supposed to be a mainly Tamaharu fic, but I've been neglecting them. Don't worry, I have up to chapter 38 already planned and we are going to have plenty of Tamaharu greatness.
> 
> Also, this chapter tells us about Kyoya's storyline that my sister came up with. I came up with the details but my sister came up with the idea, so if you like it, thank her!
> 
> So here goes, enjoy!

**_Week One_ **

Tamaki and Haruhi flopped down on their bed after finally getting the twins to fall asleep.

"Finally, we can get some sleep." Tamaki sighed and rubbed his hands over his face.

Haruhi looked over at the blond. "You know I go back to work on Monday. . . So, you're gonna be on your own during the day."

He groaned at his wife's comment and moved up to his pillow to bury his face in it. "Why do you have to go back so soon? It's not like you have to work."

"But I want to. I have been away from work for a while now and I really want to get back to it." She moved next to him and kissed his cheek. "You'll be fine."

_**Week Two** _

"Haruhi, darling." Tamaki's voice was tired and panicked as he spoke into the phone. The sound to children crying could be heard from his line. "Can't you come home early, or something? I can only get Akemi to stop crying. But when Antoine starts crying again, it makes Akemi cry too."

Haruhi sighed into the phone. "Alright, calm down. I'm leaving now. I'll be home in a few minutes. Just try to calm them down a little bit, okay?"

"Alright. Just . . .Please hurry home, Haruhi."

_**Week Three** _

"Tamaki, you can't keep calling me while I'm at work. I know we're both new at this, but figuring things out is all part of the parenting job."

The blond's voice had a tone of complete exhaustion as he spoke to his wife. "Haruhi, I think you should take next week off of work. I canceled my most recent meeting that was scheduled for last weekend. Come on, they need their mother too."

"Alright. I'll take next week off. That way we can both take care of the kids all day and hopefully get some sleep."

_**Week Four (March 22nd, 2016)** _

He plopped on the couch, face-down, and sighed. "I have probably thirty minutes to sleep now. . . "

After about five minutes of peace and quiet, Haruhi walked through the front door, carrying groceries in her arms. She wasn't loud about any of it, but almost as soon as she closed the door behind her, the twins started crying upstairs.

Tamaki himself felt like crying when he heard them wake up. He looked up to glance at his wife. "Haruhi, can you go take care of that?"

She frowned and began to set some of the bags down. "But, I have to put the groceries away."

Tamaki snapped up and glared at his wife. His eyes were completely blood-shot and had dark circles underneath them, his hair was a mess, and it looked like he hadn't shaved in the past few days.

"A month, Haruhi. A month I have been taking care of them by myself while you have been at work. Forget about the damn groceries and just please . . . please go take care of the twins this time."

He very rarely got like that when talking to Haruhi, so she sighed and complied. She walked up the stairs after setting all of the bags down and began tending to her newborns.

* * *

They were woken up at one am by the sound of babies crying.

"Haruhi, it's your turn. . ."

"But I just started to fall asleep."

Tamaki rolled over to face his wife and groaned. "Haruhi." He glared at his wife as if she had just pulled his last fuse. "It's your turn."

Haruhi sighed and got out of bed. "Fine. Fine. I'm going."

About fifteen minutes later, the babies still hadn't stopped crying. "TAMAKI!"

He groaned and dragged himself out of bed and to the nursery across the hall. "Yeah . . ." He rubbed his eyes and ran his finger through his hair as he stood in the doorway.

"Can you hold Akemi while I change Antoine? She's being really restless right now."

Tamaki sighed. "Why don't you just put her back in the crib? It's not like she's going to crawl out and wreak havoc on the world. They're a month old."

Haruhi glared angrily at him and sighed. "Tamaki, come on. Just hold her for a minute."

He sighed again. "Just put her in the crib." He turned and started to walk back to their bedroom. "I'm going back to bed."

"Tamaki Suoh! Don't you dare!" Haruhi shouted at her husband as he began to walk away. "These are your kids too! Not just mine! We will take care of them together! Now get back here and hold your daughter."

Tamaki turned back around and looked at his wife incredulously. "You don't think I know that these are my kids?! I have been taking care of them for a month while you were out at work that you didn't even have to go back to until next month! I've had to cancel all of my meetings for the past month to take care of the twins. You left me alone with two newborn babies for a month straight, and now that you have the week off, you're always out still! You're either having lunch with Chris and Hikaru or grocery shopping or shopping for the kids or something else! You even brought your damn work home with you! And you are telling ME to be a better parent?! You're the one that needs to be there more often. You're the one that needs to pick up your game. You're the one that needs to be a better parent!"

Haruhi held the twins in each of her arms as they started crying louder. "Tamaki! Stop shouting you're making them cry!"

Tamaki laughed sadly. "No, Haruhi. I'm not making them cry. They never stop crying. I haven't gotten a full night's sleep in a month because of that! But you wouldn't know that because you are always too busy to pay attention to YOUR OWN TWO CHILDREN!"

"Tamaki! You aren't being fair! It's my job! I have to be there!"

"No you don't, Haruhi! I have more than enough money to support this family! You work because you choose to! And yeah I support that, but you need to be here for our kids! You're the one that hasn't been fair!"

"Why are you being such an asshole right now?!"

Tamaki was fuming by this point. "Oh, I don't know! Maybe because it's almost 2am and I haven't slept in a month and my wife is now accusing ME of being a bad parent?! Maybe that's it! Why don't you tell me?!"

"What the hell, Tamaki! You do realize that I had to deal with being pregnant with these two for NINE MONTHS! And I had to go through the EXTREMEMLY FUCKING PAINFUL process of giving birth to two children within minutes of each other! Dealing with crying babies for a month shouldn't have you acting like this?!"

Tamaki laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh. My. God. You can't be pulling that shit now." He threw his hands up and turned around. "You know what? I need a break."

He stormed out of the room and walked into their own. He then pulled a bag out and started throwing whatever clean clothes of his he could find in it.

Haruhi stormed into their room with only Antoine in her arms. "Tamaki, where the hell are you going?"

He refused to look at her as he closed the bag. "Out. I don't know. I haven't decided yet." He stood up and faced his wife before storming down the stairs. "Somewhere where I can keep my sanity."

She followed him to the door and stood in the doorway as he left. "Fine! Leave! Take your damn private jet somewhere far away! Come back when you're ready to be a real husband and a real father!"

Haruhi slammed the door behind her and went back upstairs to the nursery as tears streamed down her face. She was so angry that she didn't even notice her dampened cheeks.

* * *

_*Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz*_

He reached over to his night table and pulled his phone to his face. "Hello . . ."

"Kyoya. It's Tamaki."

Kyoya groaned and sat up in bed. "I literally just fell asleep, Tamaki. What the hell do you want?"

Tamaki sounded as tired as Kyoya on the phone, if not more so. "Do you still live at the same place in Tokyo? The one you moved into after college?"

He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Yes. Why?"

"Okay good. Thanks." And with that he hung up the phone.

"What the hell?" Kyoya pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. He then groaned and put it back down as he went back to sleep.

* * *

After a 13 hour flight to a place with a thirteen hour time difference, Tamaki arrived in Tokyo at 4am the next day.

_*Ding dong. Ding dong*_

"Mmm. Kyoya, someone's at the door."

Kyoya sat up angrily and got out of bed. "Why is it that everyone seems to need something when I'm trying to sleep?"

He turned and glanced at the red-headed girl in his bed. "If she starts crying, will you take care of it?"

The woman moaned and sighed. "I mean, I'll try. But we both know she only stops crying with you."

_*Ding dong. Ding dong*_

Kyoya put on his glasses and made his way to the front door. He opened the door to find his best friend, Tamaki Suoh, standing at his front door looking just as he did when he left his own house. "Hey, Kyoya."

"Wha- Tamaki?! What the hell are you doing here? It's four in the morning!" He scrunched his nose for a moment. "Have you been drinking?"

Tamaki looked at Kyoya with a rather drained expression. "Well, it was a long plane ride."

"But you don't drink."

"I don't remember ever saying that I don't drink."

"Almost every time someone has offered you alcohol, even at your own wedding, you have turned it down saying 'I don't drink.' And I especially remember that after the whole thing with Hikaru, you swore to never even think about touching alcohol. . ."

He paused for a moment and ran his fingers through his hair. "So can I come in or?"

Kyoya sighed and let him in. "I guess so. You still haven't told me why you've showed up at my house at four in the morning though."

"I needed to get away. From Haruhi and-" He was interrupted by the sound of a baby crying.

As soon as he heard this, his eyes grew wide. "-that. . . Am- Am I going crazy? Or did I really just hear a baby start crying?"

After a few moments, the two men heard Kyoya's name called from the other room.

"Kyoya!" The red-headed woman from earlier came to the front door with an infant in her arms. "I tried to calm her down, but nothing's working."

She looked up from the baby girl with dark wavy hair and pale blue eyes. "Who's th-"

"Sam, this is-"

Samantha gasped as she saw who was standing next to Kyoya. "Rene? Is that really you?"

Kyoya took the crying child and she immediately stopped.

"Samantha? I haven't seen you in- how long has it been?"

The woman ran over to Tamaki and hugged him. "Fifteen years! It's been fifteen years since we last saw each other."

Kyoya sighed as he held the child. "Let me guess. You two knew each other when Tamaki lived back in France?"

She looked back at Kyoya, confused. "Tamaki?"

The blond laughed and smiled at her. "That's my Japanese name. It's the name I have gone by since I moved to Japan." He pulled apart from the woman and looked at her. "But you weren't there when I left. You and your family moved to Marseille, right? But that doesn't explain why you're here with Kyoya."

"Tamaki, it's quite obvious as to why she is here. I thought you were smarter than that."

Samantha walked over to Kyoya, leaned her head on his shoulder, and smiled at Tamaki. "We're engaged, Rene." She reached over and played with one of the baby's hands. "And this is our little girl, Zoe. Isn't she beautiful?"

Tamaki's jaw dropped and he felt like he was spinning. "Wait. So you two are engaged. . . and you have a newborn daughter . . . and you-" he pointed to Samantha, "-are living with Kyoya now . . . and . . . I- I think I need to sit down. . ."

Kyoya sighed and handed the girl to Samantha. "Tamaki, this is why you don't drink." He walked over to the blond and helped him to the living room before he passed out.

* * *

"Hikaru, can you and Chris come over, please?" Haruhi sounded like she was holding back tears.

"Haruhi, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Hikaru spoke on the other line.

Haruhi took a deep breath and sighed. "I just really need someone over here right now. I need help with the kids and . . ." She took another deep breath, sounding more choked up than before. "Tamaki just left. And I don't know when he's coming back."

Hikaru felt as if he was about to crush his phone in his hand. "We'll be over in a few minutes, Haruhi. Don't worry."

He hung up the phone and got out of bed. "Come on Chris. We're going over to see Haruhi."

Christian sat up in bed lazily. "Why? Did something happen?"

"Tamaki's gone. He just got up and left."

* * *

". . . mhh. . . Haruhi . . . we have to feed the twins." Tamaki slowly opened his eyes and saw Kyoya sitting on a couch near the one Tamaki was asleep on.

The blond sat up with a start and stared at his best friend. "So it wasn't a dream. I really did get into that fight with Haruhi . . . and I did fly all the way here that night."

Kyoya looked up from his tablet. "So you're awake now?"

He put the tablet down and stared at Tamaki for a moment. "So . . . You really just got up and left Haruhi with two newborn babies. And you didn't even tell her where you were going?

Tamaki looked down at his lap and stayed silent. "That's unlike you, Tamaki. And I have to say, it's a bit irresponsible."

The blond looked up and glared angrily at Kyoya, something Kyoya wasn't used to. "You have it easy, Kyoya. You have Sam here to help you. And you only have one baby to deal with." He stood up and started pacing as he ranted.

"Haruhi is never home! She's always too busy with work. And whenever she's not at work, she's too busy running errands or something. She left me with the twins all day for a month straight. That sleep I just got on your couch was the most sleep I've gotten since the twins were born. And then she accuses me of being a bad parent! She's the one that's never around! I have to take care of them all by myself!"

Tamaki sat back down on the couch and exhaled deeply. "I just don't know what to do. I needed to escape for a little bit."

"Tamaki, you have every right to be upset about the way Haruhi is acting. But, you had no right to leave her there alone. She's your wife and the mother to your children. You made that commitment for a reason."

The blond male sat silent for a moment and then looked back at Kyoya. "What about you and Samantha? How did that happen?"

Kyoya pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose and glared at Tamaki. "You're avoiding the topic at hand, Tamaki."

"I just want to know how that happened. Sam was my only real friend back in France. She used to play the piano with me for my mother and sometimes watch the shows my dad sent us. I want to know how you ended up with her. How she ended up being the mother of your child."

Kyoya sighed and started to explain. "Well, I was in France right before your wedding. I had been traveling a lot ever since Masami and I got divorced. And. . . I guess you can say I had been with quite a few women before I met Samantha-"

Tamaki gasped and laughed. "Wait so you mean you slept around? I didn't expect that from you, Kyoya."

He sighed and continued. "Call it what you must. Anyways I was in Marseille and she accidentally bumped into me on the street and it ended up making me drop and break my glasses. So to make up for it, Samantha said she would buy me lunch. I told her it was completely unnecessary but she insisted. So we had lunch together and I was intrigued by her. She could obviously tell that I was Japanese but she didn't act like you or your mother about Japanese culture. She seemed to already be very educated in the subject, and I soon found out that she had traveled there before and learned that the movies and TV shows about Japan are completely inaccurate."

He paused for a moment and laughed. "After that, it's crazy to say, but we actually ended up falling in love. I never actually thought I would be moved by such an intangible concept as love. There wasn't even any actual benefit to being with her, except for happiness. . . Mind you, I didn't find out about Zoe until about a month before she was born. And she was born on the 17th so . . . "

Tamaki laughed quietly as Kyoya finished explaining.

"Why are you laughing, Tamaki?"

He smiled back at Kyoya and laughed a little more. "I just think it's pretty funny that you ended up like my family. A Japanese man from a prominent family falling in love with a beautiful French woman and having a child out of wedlock. It's a bit ironic." He paused and sighed. "The only difference is that you were already divorced when you had the child."

"It seems like I did, in a way, created your family over again."

Tamaki looked at Kyoya with complete seriousness. "Kyoya, just make sure that Zoe doesn't get separated from either of you because of your parents. Don't have her go through what I went through."

Kyoya laughed. "I didn't plan on that happening, Tamaki. And I appreciate your interest in my love life, but it seems like you are having quite a bit more trouble in paradise."

The blond sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Tell me about it. . . "

"So why don't you stay for the rest of the day, and then head back tonight I've already talked to Haruhi telling her that you're here and safe. . . She needs some help with the kids, and isn't her husband and father to her children supposed to be that help?"

* * *

Haruhi was sitting on the couch with Akemi in her lap as Chris played with Antoine. "Thanks for coming over, you guys. I really appreciate the help."

"It's no problem, Haruhi! I was hoping we would get to see these little cuties again soon." Chris spoke as he played with Antoine's hands, causing the infant to giggle.

Hikaru sat next to Haruhi on the couch. "So have you heard anything from Tamaki yet?"

She shook her head and sighed. "No, nothing from Tamaki. But I know where he is. Kyoya called me just before you two go here and told me he was at his house in Japan."

"So he flew all the way to Japan, just because you two fought? What even were you two fighting about anyways?" Hikaru leaned back on the couch and watched Chris play with the baby boy on the floor in front of them.

"Well, ever since I went back to work, Tamaki had been really stressed out because he had to spend the entire day with the twins. So he was starting to get upset with me since I wasn't home enough to help him . . . And he blew up when I told him that he needed to get over it because that's what raising a child was about. . . I told him that he needed to be a better parent . . ."

She paused for a moment before continuing. "And then he told me that I wouldn't know what being a parent entitled because I'm never home and he started yelling and carrying on about how he hadn't gotten decent sleep in a month and how I wasn't home enough. . . And then he left."

Chris looked up at Haruhi when she finished talking. "You know, Haruhi. . . He kind of had a point. You did go back to work sooner than you had to . . . And raising a kid on your own is pretty hard, just ask my mom . . . let alone two."

Haruhi frowned. "I thought you two were on my side."

Hikaru threw his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I'm not on anyone's side with this, Haruhi. I just recently got back on Tamaki's good side and I plan to stay there." He put his hands back down and sighed. "He did have a point, Haruhi. But I don't think he had any reason to just leave you here with the kids."

Chris laughed and continued to play with the baby. "Yeah, Hikaru's right. That was a really dumb move on his part. And anyways, who would want to leave these precious angels behind?"

Haruhi sighed and gave a sad smile. "I guess you guys are right. I should be home more often." She looked up at Hikaru. "So, now I've decided . . . I'm going to take the next month off of work to take care of the kids."

He tossed Antoine in the air a little bit, causing the baby to squeal. "They're just so damn adorable. Hikaru, I want one."

Hikaru choked on his spit and blushed bright red. "Wh-what?" He regained his composure a bit and looked over at Chris. "That's a conversation for another time, alright?"

Christian and Haruhi laughed at Hikaru's reaction and went back to playing with the twins.

* * *

The next day, 11pm.

Tamaki approached his front door, cleaned up and well rested, and began to unlock it. He opened the door quietly and set his bag down in the foyer.

"Haruhi?" Tamaki whispered his wife's name as he walked into the house. He entered the living room and froze in his tracks. He smiled at the sight of Haruhi, Hikaru, and Chris spread out on the couch and floor with Antoine sprawled across Hikaru and Chris's chests on the floor, and Akemi sleeping soundly on Haruhi's chest on the couch.

Haruhi woke up slowly, making sure not to wake the baby up. She sat up and placed the blonde girl down on the couch in her place. "Tamaki . . . "

The brunette stood and walked over to her husband and just looked up at him with crossed arms.

The two stood in silence for a moment as Tamaki rubbed the back of his neck and looked at his feet.

"I'm sorry- No you can go first-" The two spoke in unison as they looked at each other.

"Why don't we go outside for a minute and talk about this. I don't want to wake anyone up." Tamaki suggested as he gestured to the front door.

Haruhi nodded and the two of them made their way outside.

They leaned against the porch railing and spoke.

"I'm sorry . . . I'm so sorry, Haruhi. I should have never left and I am so sorry for blowing up at you like that . . ."

"You don't need to apologize for getting upset with me. Yeah, you shouldn't have left like that; it scared the shit out of me. I had no idea when or if you would come back. . . But . . . You had every right to be upset with me. You were right. I wasn't home enough and I put all of the responsibility on you. I guess I lived up to my fears of being a bad mom . . . But, you . . . You're a great father, Tamaki. You took care of the twins better than I could ever dream of. I had no right to say you weren't being a good parent."

"Haruhi, don't say that. You're not a bad mom. You just . . . You didn't know what to do. It just takes time." He paused and looked over at his wife. "The only reason I got so upset is because I need your help to raise our children. We have two children and there are two of us. It's a lot of work, I know, but this is supposed to be exciting and fun. I love those kids with all of my heart, and I love you the same, Haruhi. I just need your help."

"I've realized that now." She moved over to her husband and grabbed his hand. "And that's exactly what you're going to get. I already called in to work to take off for the next month." She stood on her toes and kissed Tamaki on the lips. "Let's raise these kids together, okay?"

He kissed her back and pulled her into a hug. After a moment, they broke apart and smiled at each other.

"So, Hikaru and Chris slept over tonight, did they?"

Haruhi laughed. "I asked them to come over once you left, and they said they would stay until you got back." She grabbed Tamaki's hand again and looked up at him. "So how's Kyoya?"

"He's great, actually." Tamaki smiled down at Haruhi and laughed. "Believe it or not, he actually has a baby too. With my best friend from France, Samantha. They're engaged and have a little baby girl named Zoe."

They started moving towards the front door. "So Kyoya ended up making a new version of your family, huh?"

Tamaki laughed again and opened the door quietly. "Yeah, it seems like he did."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO there ya have it! I needed some angst because I can't have everything rainbows and butterflies.
> 
> Okay, so as I said at the beginning, I have up to chapter 38 already planned and chapter 37 is going to be the big sad angsty one I told you about. So beware.
> 
> But in those chapters until 37, 6 years go by so there will be new babies and minor angst here and there and secrets revealed and shit like that.
> 
> And LOTS OF FLUFF (plenty of which is Tamaharu trust me. I focused on them a lot)
> 
> So keep reading and reviewing. I will probably have the next chapter up tomorrow since it's already written.
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW!


	15. Pick-Me-Ups and Let Downs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright readers! Her is a little filler-ish chapter focusing around Takashi and Sofia and Kaoru and Natalia. I had fun writing this little fluffy chapter, so I hope you have fun reading it!
> 
> Well that's all I have to say! Enjoy!

"Hmm." Sofia Morinozuka sat on the floor of her living room in front of the coffee table. She was using a seemingly endless pile of sugar wafers to build a house . . . and eat.

The house of wafers was very detailed and extravagant, and about the size of a model mansion. In between adding on a new window or door, she kept a few of the wafers to herself to eat. Every once in a while, she would lean back and admire her work, while simultaneously grabbing a cookie off of the plate set on the couch behind her.

After she felt like the wafer mansion was complete, she moved back and sat on the couch. Sofia sat for a moment staring at the mansion, and then she called for her husband.

"Kashi!" When the two first started dating, Sofia gave him that nickname because she thought it sounded cute, and the name quickly stuck.

Takashi walked into the living room and looked over at Sofia, who was beaming as she gestured to her wafer mansion. "Look, Kashi! I made a pretty mansion out of sugar wafers!"

He walked over to the couch and sat down next to her. After staring at the mansion for a moment, he picked up a few of the extra wafers and built them into what appeared to be a mailbox. "There."

"I almost forgot about the mailbox." She laughed and kissed Takashi on the cheek. "Thanks!"

Takashi sat back up and turned to face his wife. "Sofie. We need to talk about something."

She gave a small frown, which seemed more like a pout. "What is it, Takashi?"

He sat there for a moment just staring at her. "You have been eating a lot more than you usually do and I can't figure out why."

"What are you talki-" She began to speak when she noticed all of the sugary food surrounding them. "Oh. . . I didn't even realize it."

"Do you have any idea why you've been eating all these sweets?"

"Hmm." Sofia thought hard for a moment. "Nope. No I can't really think of any specific reasons. I guess I've just been craving-"

She went completely silent when she said the word "craving" and her eyes went wide. She gasped slowly and looked over at her husband. "I think I might have an idea." She stood up and moved around the mansion carefully. "Wait here. This will only take five minutes."

She started to walk away, but quickly turned back around. "Don't destroy the mansion. I worked really hard on that."

He looked over at her. "Well, we can't leave it there forever."

Sofia put her finger on her chin and thought for a quick minute. "Then take a picture of it so I can at least remember how great it looked."

Takashi nodded and Sofia turned around and walked out of the living room.

Almost exactly five minutes later, Takashi heard squealing and laughing coming from the bathroom.

"Sofia?" He stood and started walking out of the living room. "Are you alright?"

He was almost out of the living room when Sofia emerged from the bathroom and ran up to Takashi. She glomped him and kissed him on the lips but quickly got back up. Once she was off of him, she put her hands behind her back and slipped something into her back pocket.

Takashi looked at his wife, confused. "What's going on? What did you just do?"

Sofia simply giggled and smiled wide at him. "Pick me up."

"Why? Are you hurt?"

She giggled again and held her arms out. "No, silly. Just pick me up."

He complied and lifted his wife up with much ease. As soon as he lifted her off of the ground his eyes grew wide.

Takashi set Sofia back down and stared at her with his eyes still wide. "You felt different. . . Sofia, are you-"

"I knew you'd be able to tell." She laughed and pulled a pregnancy test out of her back pocket. The sign in the center read positive. "We're actually gonna have a baby! A cute little baby with cute little feet and hands and a tiny nose! It's gonna be so adorable!"

She slipped the stick back into her back pocket and jumped up to throw her arms around her husband's neck.

She laughed as he smiled and spun her around while kissing her. "We're actually starting a family now."

Sofia kissed Takashi on the lips again and giggled. "Yep! We really are!"

* * *

She groaned and sat down on the bed next to her husband. "Should I even bother checking? I mean . . . It hasn't happened yet and I honestly don't think it will. . . At least for a while."

He stared at the ceiling with his arms crossed behind his head. "I dunno." He shrugged and looked over at his wife. "It's up to you Nat. But I guess there isn't any harm in checking, right? And you are showing some of the symptoms, so . . ."

Natalia sighed and fell onto her back. "But I show some of the symptoms every time and every time I decide to check, it comes back negative."

Kaoru sat up and turned to Natalia. "Listen, Nat. I know we've been trying for a little while now, and I know we've been unsuccessful, but we have time. We don't have to rush this. We'll have kids when we have kids."

She turned to face him. "I know . . . I just really want this, Kaoru." She sat up as well. "What if . . . What if I can't have kids?"

He gave her a sad smile and grabbed her hand. "If you can't have kids, then you can't. There's nothing we can really do about that. And you know it could also be me." Kaoru turned all the way towards Nat and grabbed her other hand, too. "Here, how about this? Why don't you go check now, and if it comes back negative, then we will keep trying for. . . hm . . . let's say a year? After that year, if still nothing happens, then both of us will go to the doctor to see what's up okay?"

Nat frowned and looked down at their hands. "And if we can't have kids?"

"Well then we adopt, or something." He moved one of his hands up to cup Natalia's cheek. "We're gonna have a family, Nat. One way or another, we will have kids." Kaoru pulled her into a kiss and smiled at her.

She laughed faintly and nodded. "Alright . . . I'm gonna go check now."

**_Five minutes later. . ._ **

Natalia groaned angrily from the bathroom. "Dammit! Every damn time!"

The younger twin sat up and sighed. "Negative again?"

A moment later the brunette woman emerged from the bathroom. "I hate these damn things." She gestured to the pregnancy test in her hand. "I feel like every time I even look at one it's just gonna be another let down."

"Calm down, hun. It'll be fine. We have a plan for this now, remember?"

She threw the plastic stick in the garbage and sat next to her husband on the bed again. "It's just not fair! Why can't we have kids like Tamaki and Haruhi?! They weren't even married yet when she got pregnant." She ran her hands through her hair and fell back against her pillow. "Why can't that be us?"

Kaoru sighed and moved closer to Natalia, pulling her into a hug. "Because it's not. But I really don't mind our situation. We can have some actual peace and quiet for a little bit. Remember that 'alone time' we talked about? Well, that would be interrupted if we had kids right now, wouldn't it?"

Nat gasped at her husband and sat up. "So are you meaning to tell me that you don't even want kids?"

The twin groaned and sat back up. "No, Nat. That's not what I'm saying at all. I was just thinking that maybe we should take it slow. Have a little bit of patience."

She crossed her arms and glared at her husband. "Do you want to have kids or not?"

"Of course I want to have kids! I want nothing more than to start a family with you!"

"Then this whole 'taking it slow' idea you have isn't an option."

"Nat, come on. We've only been married for almost a year now. We aren't in that much of a hurry to have kids."

"But Tamaki and Haruhi-"

He interrupted his wife and ran his fingers through his hair. "Why are you so hooked on the fact that Tamaki and Haruhi have kids?"

Natalia looked down at her hands and took a deep breath. "Because . . ." She sniffled a little bit and her eyes filled up with tears.

"Nat, are you crying? What's wrong?" He moved to sit in front of her. "Hun, are you sure you aren't pregnant? You don't seem to cry a lot about this kind of stuff . . ."

She smacked his arm and glared at him. "I just checked not even five minutes ago, Kaoru. Don't be an asshole."

"Alright. Alright. I'm sorry." He looked up at her. "Continue what you were saying."

She sighed and wiped her eyes. "I'm so obsessed with the fact that they already have kids because . . ." Nat groaned and sniffled some more. "They are just so happy together. I mean I know they fight sometimes but they adore each other. They seem so content with life."

Nat reached out and grabbed one of Kaoru's hands and looked up at him with tears streaming down her face. "I was afraid that if we didn't have kids, like Tamaki and Haruhi, we would never be as happy as they are. And-and that-" She looked away from him as she finished her thought. "I was afraid that you might leave me . . ."

Kaoru quickly took both of Natalia's hands in one of his own and moved his hand to wipe away her tears. "Natalia. Look at me." He lifted her chin so that their eyes met. "I love you, okay? Nothing is ever going to change that. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't have asked you to marry me."

He pushed her hair behind her ear and smiled at her. "Yes, I would love to have children with you. Of course I would. But that is not and never will be the only reason we are together. Our ability to have kids will not decide whether I stay with you or leave. I will _NEVER_ leave you, Nat. I swear it."

Kaoru grabbed both of her hands again and stared straight into her eyes. "You are my wife. You are the love of my life. You are not some machine made only to produce children. You are human and no matter how many let downs come upon us, I will not let you go, okay?"

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Natalia smiled and threw her arms around Kaoru's neck. "Thank you, Kaoru. I love you too."

He laughed and hugged her back. "So we're going to stick to the plan now, right?"

She laughed and pulled away from him, having almost completely regained her composure.

"Absolutely." She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. She then pulled away and smirked. "So, how about we get started?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah I pretty much made Kaoru the perfect husband because his personality is actually really great and no one seems to realize that. He is, in my opinion, the most underrated character in Ouran. So have some awesome Kaoru fluff!
> 
> Okay anyways, the next chapter is THE LONGEST CHAPTER I HAVE EVER WRITTEN AND PROBABLY WILL EVER WRITE! It has all of the couples in it. It's like a reunion chapter and it's great.
> 
> And not to mention that it is absolutely hilarious! Trust me it's awesome! My sister helped out A LOT with the planning of the next chapter so thank her for the hilarity that is about to ensue.
> 
> Join me next time for Chapter 15 - Vacation Fun Times
> 
> Until then! PLEASE REVIEW!


	16. Mr. Cellophane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so I couldn't wait to post this chapter because it's just too much to keep from you guys.
> 
> This chapter started out being really hard to write and really lame but then my sister and I came up with a brilliant idea.
> 
> ADD LOTS OF ALCOHOL AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS!
> 
> So that's exactly what we did.
> 
> Enjoy these reunion vacation shenanigans! All 6,000+ words!

**August 18, 2016**

"St. Lucia?"

"Yep!"

"It sounds nice . . . But why now? Isn't it a bit of an inconvenient time to go on vacation?"

"I don't think so. And it'll be great! It will be like a nice little host club reunion!"

Haruhi sighed as she fed Akemi. "It doesn't sound very 'little' to me. And I don't think it's the best idea. I mean, we have the twins and Kyoya has Zoe. . . And isn't Sofia five months pregnant?"

Tamaki had just finished feeding and burping Antoine, so he was now playing with the infant's hands and feet. "We'll Sofia was the one who suggested it. And I think it would be fun to take the kids to the beach!"

"Tamaki, you do realize that they are six month old, right? I really don't think they will understand the concept of the beach. And I'm pretty sure Kyoya and Samantha would agree." She looked down at her daughter, who had begun to fall asleep. "By the way, are those two married yet?"

The blond sighed as Antoine began to fall asleep in his arms as well. "Yeah. They eloped. I was actually looking forward to their wedding, but apparently they didn't see the need for a big ceremony so they just decided to elope instead."

He stood up and gestured to the stairs so that they could put the twins in bed. "And anyways, Kyoya and Sam have already decided to go. Sam convinced Kyoya that it would be fun."

The two reached the nursery and set the sleeping twins in the crib. As they were leaving the room, Tamaki continued to speak.

"Come on, Haruhi. It'll be fun. And we are the only ones left to confirm that we'll be there."

They went into their bedroom across the hall and sat down on the bed. Haruhi sighed and looked back at Tamaki.

"Taking two six month old babies to the beach sounds like more work than it's worth. . . ."

That's when Tamaki's puppy dog eyes came out.

"Come on, Tamaki. Don't do that now."

He looked back at her again before turning away.

"Tamaki, really?"

Once more.

"You're being ridiculous."

He looked back again.

She caved. "Fine. I guess we can go. . . When do we have to be there?"

Tamaki cheered as he jumped up and pulled his wife into a tight embrace.

After a moment of giddy cheering, Tamaki let Haruhi out of his embrace and smiled at her. "We leave in the morning! Everyone is arriving some time tomorrow."

Haruhi sighed. "Well we better start packing now then. It's for a week, right?"

Before Haruhi could even finish her thought, Tamaki bolted out of the room and arrived seconds later with three suitcases.

"Tamaki. The twins don't need their own suitcase. They're babies."

He pouted and held the small suitcase next to his face. "But it's so cute! It's the perfect size to fit everything they need in it."

She ran her fingers through her hair. "Fine. But that means we're sharing the big suitcase. We're only gonna be gone for a week. We don't need three separate suitcases."

He nodded. "Deal."

* * *

She squealed and ran towards the door when she heard the doorbell ring.

"Sofia. Don't run. I don't want you to hurt yourself." Takashi walked up to the door with his pregnant wife.

Sofia put her hand on the doorknob and turned back to her husband. She glared angrily at him. "I can run if I want. I'm pregnant. Not injured." Sofia then giggled and smiled at Takashi. "Okay?"

Takashi went completely silent and froze in his place. His expression, though barely readable, showed a mix of confusion and fright. Sofia very rarely got angry with anyone, let alone her husband, but when she did, everyone seemed to cower in fear.

Sofia then opened the door and smiled wide at Tamaki and Haruhi as they stood with the twins in their arms. "Welcome to Casa Rivera!"

She moved to let the two in the house as Takashi moved to take their bags for them. "Takashi will take your things to your room. I'm so glad you could make it! And that you could bring these little angels along."

Haruhi smiled back at Sofia. "Thanks for inviting us! Neither of us has actually been to St. Lucia before, so we thought it'd be fun."

Sofia laughed as she played with Antoine's hands. "You know, Takashi said the same thing. So I thought it would be a great idea if instead of just the two of us going on vacation, we invite all of our friends. And we wouldn't have to spend any money on lodging because of my beach house."

Tamaki knit his eyebrows in confusion. "Oh, I thought this was Mori-sempai's beach house."

The pregnant woman rolled her eyes at Tamaki's comment. "You know, Tamaki. I may be a commoner in your standards, but my parents liked to travel a lot. This is the same house I used to go to all the time growing up."

"But don't you already have a beach house in Puerto Rico?"

She chuckled and stopped playing with Antoine's hands. "Well, I mean. . . Puerto Rico has a lot of 'beach' on it. And my parents still live in the house I grew up in there . . . So if you want to count that as a beach house, go ahead."

Antoine started reaching out from Haruhi's arms to be held by Sofia. She laughed and held the baby boy. "How are my favorite twins doing?"

As if on cue, Hikaru and Kaoru walked into the foyer with Christian and Natalia. In unison they said "Woooaaaahhh. That's not very nice, Sofia."

"I thought we were number one on the 'most loved twins' list." Kaoru put his arm around his wife as he walked over to the group near the door.

Hikaru soon followed with Chris close by. "Yeah, last time I checked, it doesn't get much better than us."

Sofia scoffed and turned to face the two as the others laughed. "Trust me, these two are way more adorable than you two could ever dream of being. The only things that keep the two of you tolerable are Nat and Chris. . . Well, Kaoru, you're more tolerable than Hikaru, but still. " She gestured down the wide hallway. "Now come on. Let's get out of the doorway already."

* * *

About a half an hour later, the doorbell rang again.

Sofia looked up from playing with Antoine and Akemi. "Oh that must be Kyoya. I wonder if he brought Samantha with him. I'd love to finally meet her."

Tamaki smiled over at Sofia. "Oh yeah, she's the one that convinced him to come. She's great! You'll love her. I've known her since I was really little."

"Really? How's that?"

"Well she was my best friend when I lived back in France. I hadn't seen her in years, but then I found out she was with Kyoya. She really is a great person though, I'm sure you'll love her. . . " he paused for a moment and laughed as Sofia stood up from playing with the twins. "But I have a feeling that you'll love Zoe even more."

Hikaru and Kaoru looked over at Tamaki at the same time. "Who is Zoe?"

Haruhi looked over at the twins, confused. "Zoe's their daughter. She's about a month younger than Antoine and Akemi."

Hikaru, Kaoru, Natalia, Christian, Sofia, and Takashi looked over at Haruhi and spoke in unison. "What?! Kyoya has a daughter?!"

Before any of them could even react, Kyoya and Samantha were walking into the living area where they were all seated with Mitsukuni and Reiko leading them. And sure enough, Samantha was carrying a small black-haired infant in her arms.

"Kyo-chan is here, everyone!" The oldest of all of the hosts had grown since they got out of high school, but not drastically. He was about the same height as Samantha, who was a few inches shorter than Kyoya.

Reiko was holding on to her husband's hand as she spoke with a blank expression. "We ran into them outside when we got back."

Hikaru looked over at Mitsukuni and Reiko. "Where did you guys even go?"

"He wanted to go for a walk on the beach while we waited for everyone to get here."

The honey-blond man smiled. "Reiko-chan has never been to the beach, so I took her to really see it!"

Sofia had completely frozen in her place when she saw Zoe in Samantha's arms. She then rushed over to Kyoya, Samantha, and Zoe, despite Takashi's wishes for her not to run. As soon as she got a better look at the baby, she threw her hand over her mouth and squealed quietly. "Is this gorgeous girl, Zoe?"

Samantha smiled at her and nodded. "Yes, this is our Zoe. Do you want to hold her?"

Without hesitation, Sofia held out her arms and held Zoe. She moved her hand up to play with the infant's tiny hands and gasped. "Ah, que linda!" She looked up at Samantha and smiled wide. "She's so beautiful!"

After a moment of playing with Zoe, Sofia looked back up at Samantha and laughed. "Oh, where are my manors!?" She held out her hand for Samantha to shake. "I'm Sofia! I'm Takashi's wife. And this lovely home is my family beach house. Nice to finally meet you!"

Samantha laughed and shook Sofia's hand. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Samantha, Kyoya's wife. But I guess you already knew that." She looked over at the rest of the group. "Well, come to think of it, I haven't actually met any of you. Well other than Rene- Oh, I mean Tamaki, sorry."

Tamaki laughed and walked over to Sam and kissed her on the cheek. "It's good to see you again, Sam." Haruhi walked up next to Tamaki with Antoine and Akemi in each of her arms. "This is my wife, Haruhi. And our twins, Akemi and Antoine."

The red-head smiled and kissed Haruhi on the cheek. "Nice to finally meet you, Haruhi." She leaned in and lightly brushed her hand against each of the twins' faces. "And these twins are beautiful. You must be so proud. I hope he-" She gestured to Tamaki, "-hasn't caused too much trouble."

Tamaki pouted at his friend. "Hey, that's not fair."

Haruhi smiled and laughed as Tamaki took Akemi from her. "I am, thank you. And Tamaki is great. He's a great husband and father so no worries there."

From the living area behind them, Hikaru cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted over to Haruhi. "Especially the time that he left you alone with them and flew to Japan at two in the morning! Can't forget that great display of parenting!"

Chris glared at Hikaru and punched him in the arm. "Not funny, Hikaru." Chris then got up and walked over to Tamaki, who was now pouting in the corner with Akemi still in his arms.

"I am a terrible father, aren't I?"

Chris crouched down and took Akemi out of Tamaki's arms while patting him on the back. "No, Tamaki. You're a great father. Hikaru's just being an ass hole."

Tamaki still refused to get up. "But, Kyoya was right. It was irresponsible. I shouldn't have left Haruhi all alone like that. What was I thinking?"

At this, Kyoya walked over next to Tamaki and finally spoke up. "Tamaki-" he pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose and glared at the blond, "-stop being a moron and get up. I was hoping that you would have grown out of this by the time we graduated college . . . You're being ridiculous. And this is no way to act as a guest of Sofia's house. Show some manors and be happy."

Tamaki then shot up and put his arm around Kyoya. "You're absolutely right. Thank you, Kyoya." He then walked over to Sofia and gave her a small bow. "My sincerest apologies, Sofia. I did not intend to cause such a commotion."

Sofia, still holding Zoe, laughed and walked past Tamaki and into the living room. "You guys are really ridiculous. You know that, right? I don't know what it is with you silly rich people and your melodramatics. Sometimes I wonder how Takashi dealt with you for all those years. Well and Haruhi too." She walked over to her husband and then turned to face the rest of the group. "Now would everyone stop being so sappy and boring and actually have some fun?"

* * *

"Alright. So the kids are all asleep, so we can't be too loud anymore." Haruhi walked back into the living room with Samantha following close behind. "So what are we gonna do now-"

Haruhi stopped abruptly when she saw Hikaru carrying an over-abundance of bottles in his arms.

The older twin noticed Haruhi staring at him and stopped walking. "What? You said the kids are asleep right? So let's have some fun!"

Chris walked over to his boyfriend and quickly started taking the bottles from Hikaru's arms. "You are the last person we want handling all of this. And where the hell did you get all of this from?"

Hikaru picked up an already opened bottle of beer and took a swig. "The kitchen." He looked over to Sofia, who was sitting down and eating a piece of cake next to Takashi. "Hey Sofia! I had no idea you had such a great stash." He looked at the array of bottles on the table. "You have a really great selection here."

Sofia looked up from her piece of cake as she felt all of the eyes in the room turn to her. "What?" she asked with a mouth full of cake. "I thought all already knew that I like to drink on occasion."

She finished her cake but all eyes stayed on her. "Alright! Fine! Takashi and I have drinking contests a lot! But that really isn't a big deal. Mitsukuni and Reiko are usually there!"

Mitsukuni, who was also eating cake next to his spouse, looked up and laughed. "Yep! She's right!"

After a moment, Hikaru looked back at the alcohol and smirked. "That's actually a great idea." He looked back at the rest of the group but Chris glared at him.

"Don't even think about it, Hikaru."

The older twin laughed. "It's alright, Chris. Okay. So. Since the three babies are asleep, and we obviously have people here who don't drink . . . Why don't we have a drinking contest between those of us who do appreciate alcohol?"

Chris continued to glare at him. "Hikaru, I really don't think that 'appreciate' is the appropriate word to use when talking about your relationship with alcohol. . ."

Hikaru ignored Chris's comment and looked around at the group. "So? Who's up for it?"

After a moment's pause, someone finally spoke up.

"I'm in!" A small voice was heard from where Kyoya, Tamaki, and Haruhi were sitting. Samantha had just stood up and smiled at Hikaru.

Hikaru laughed, walked over to Samantha, and put his arm around her. "Kyoya, you picked a good one! She's a keeper!"

Kyoya looked up at his wife. "Sam, are you sure? I mean it honestly doesn't sound like the best idea. . ."

She laughed and smiled at him. "Well, sure why not? It sounds like fun!"

Haruhi stood up and stretched. "I guess I'll do it too. I mean it couldn't hurt to have a few drinks."

Tamaki's eyes went wide. "Haruhi darling! Since when do you drink?"

Haruhi laughed. "I don't really. I don't see any point to it. But I have before, and you should know, Tamaki. You're always there whenever I do. It's not like anything bad is going to happen."

"Takashi's in too!" Sofia stood up, pulling her husband with her.

"What? Why?" Takashi looked down at his wife, confused.

She giggled and held onto his arm. "Well, you've beaten me at our contests a few times, so there's no doubt you can beat all of these silly lightweights."

Hikaru scoffed. "Who are you calling a lightweight?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "You, dumbass. You kinda are a lightweight . . ."

"What?! No I'm not!"

Chris sighed and looked at the bottles on the table. "Well . . . I guess I'm in too. Someone needs to show Hikaru that he's a lightweight."

In unison, Natalia and Kaoru stood up. "We're in too."

The older twin laughed and looked around. "Nice! So the only one's not participating are Kyoya, Tamaki, Honi-sempai, and Reiko?"

Takashi looked over at Hikaru. "And Sofia."

The twin looked over at Sofia and Takashi, confused. "What? I thought you were the one that's able to drink anyone under a table."

Sofia pouted and sat back down. "I am . . ."

"Then why aren't you joining us?"

She glared at him and Takashi spoke up. "She can't drink when she's pregnant. It's bad for the baby."

Hikaru laughed and sighed. "Awe well that sucks for you, Sofia. But at least we all have a chance at winning now."

Sofia glared angrily at him. "No you don't. Like I said, Takashi is the only one who has ever been able to beat me at drinking. I mean, it doesn't happen often, but it still happens."

At that moment, Kyoya stood up and walked over next to Samantha. "I guess I'll join too. There's no harm in having fun every once and a while."

Tamaki began pouting again. "You too, Kyoya?"

Haruhi then looked back at her husband and laughed. "Oh stop pouting and just come on."

The blond thought for a moment and then looked back up at his wife. "No. I think I'll sit this out in case the twins wake up."

The brunette shrugged and went to join the others. "Alright. Suit yourself."

Hikaru looked around at everyone. "Alright! Anyone else in?" He paused for a moment. "Okay! Let's do this."

* * *

"Alright. Is everyone ready?"

The group was set up in the dining room of the house at a large square table. On one side were Natalia, Kaoru, Hikaru, and Chris. Another side held Kyoya, Samantha, Haruhi, and Tamaki, even though Tamaki wasn't drinking. The third side, which also seemed to act as the center in this situation, was taken by Takashi and Sofia, even though Sofia wasn't drinking either. And on the opposite side of them, Mitsukuni and Reiko had all of the drinks set up. The two of them were used to setting this up for Takashi and Sofia, so they offered to set up and be the referees this time as well.

"Come on, let's do this!" Hikaru leaned back in his chair and put his arm around Chris's shoulders.

Tamaki looked around nervously at the rest of the group. "Are you guys sure you wanna do this? I mean . . . I don't think any of us knows what we're all like drunk. Well, except for Hikaru." The older twin glared at Tamaki, but the blond brushed it off and continued. "So, ya know. Things could get out of hand."

Haruhi looked over at Tamaki. "I don't see anything wrong with this. None of us have to drive home. The kids are asleep. We have four people that aren't drinking that can make sure things don't get too out of hand. It's just some harmless fun."

Tamaki sighed and sat back in his chair. "If you say so."

Mitsukuni stood up from his chair and walked over to the counter where the drinks were held. "Okay. So, what drink is going to be the challenge tonight?"

Without any hesitation, Sofia looked up at him and spoke. "Tequila."

Hikaru's eyes went wide as he looked over at Sofia. "Don't you think that's a bit much? And you shouldn't even get to decide, since you're not drinking."

Sofia glared over at Hikaru, but smiled mischievously at him at the same time. "My house. My rules. You will all be drinking tequila. Whoever appears to stay sober the longest, wins."

A few moments later all of the drinks were set up in front of the group.

And so it began.

**_One shot down._ **

A simultaneous look of disgust was shown throughout the group.

Sofia glared at the glasses, yearning to join in.

"Oh, Sofia, do you want some?" Hikaru held up his glass and gestured it over to her.

"You motherfucker-" Sofia stood up and almost ran over and choked Hikaru out, but Takashi stopped her before she got to him. He grabbed her shoulder and handed her a piece of cake.

The pregnant woman then sat down and pouted while she ate her piece of cake. She then glared over at her husband. "Takashi, you better win this."

He nodded and picked up the next glass.

**_Two shots down._ **

The lightweights began to show themselves. Oddly enough, the first one to start to get buzzed was Kyoya. Slowly followed by Kaoru.

Kyoya scooted closer to his wife and smiled at her. "Sam, you're so beautiful. You know that, right?" He still seemed fairly sober, but showing this kind of affection in public was unlike him. _The clingy drunk._

The group started to quietly laugh at Kyoya's change in manor. But Kaoru just sat there, confused.

"Wait. Why is everyone laughing? What's so funny? Did I miss something?" The laughter got louder when Kaoru spoke. _The oblivious drunk._

Two down, six to go.

**_Three shots down._ **

Kyoya now had his head leaned on Samantha's shoulder as he played with her hair. Kaoru was tracing the rim of an empty glass absentmindedly.

The rest of the group seemed to stay the same, minus the rise in laughter at the two lightest lightweights in the room.

**_Four shots down._ **

Kyoya continued to get even clingier with Samantha as Kaoru continued to play with the glass in front of him.

But now, Hikaru was leaning on one of his hands as he stared angrily at the glass in front of him. "It's not fair."

Chris looked over at the now brooding Hikaru. "What?"

Hikaru looked over at his boyfriend. "She stole him away from me. And he just abandoned me."

Chris rolled his eyes and sighed. "Oh God. Here we go again." He looked over at Mitsukuni while he gestured to the older twin. "Princess pouty here is out." Chris looked back at Hikaru. "I told you that you're a lightweight."

Hikaru's face got red and he sat up. "I am not drunk! I am completely sober, what the hell are you talking about?!"

At the same time, Haruhi started giggling quietly. This caused Hikaru to slouch back down and glare over at her. "Look at her. She's so happy with him. It's not fair." _The angry/depressed drunk._

Chris ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "Yeah, you're drunk alright."

Haruhi's laughter grew louder, causing Tamaki to look at her questioningly. "Haruhi, what's so funny?"

Still laughing, she turned to her husband and spoke. "I dunno. It's just funny. Everything's great!" She leaned on Tamaki's shoulder and continued to laugh louder and louder . . . At absolutely nothing. _The happy drunk._

Two more down. Four to go.

**_Five shots down._ **

Hikaru glared over at Natalia as he continued to drink. And now, she was glaring back.

Kaoru smiled at his wife, still completely oblivious to everything. "Nat, hun. What's up?"

She angrily slammed her glass on the table as she continued to glare at Hikaru. "It pisses me off. Your damn brother won't back off."

Hikaru stood up at that comment. "If you have something to say, then say it to my face!"

Natalia stood up also. She walked over to Hikaru and got in his face. "You are such an ass! Why can't you let Kaoru and I just be happy and get over yourself!?"

Hikaru yelled back at her. "Why don't you two go take your happiness somewhere else!?"

Kaoru just sat there staring at the two. "What's goin' on guys?"

Nat then turned back to her husband and rushed over to pull him into a tight embrace. "Kaoru!" Her face was now soaked with tears for some odd reason. "You still love me, right?! Tell me you love me!"

Kaoru hugged her back as the look of confusion washed over his face once more. "What? Yeah, of course I love you, Nat. What's all this about?"

Hikaru was fuming as he shouted at Nat again. "Get your skank hands off of my brother!"

She let go of Kaoru and quickly turned back to the older twin. "GET YOUR FAT ASS OUT OF MY LIFE!" _The angry/ weepy drunk._

Tamaki looked over at the two, concerned. "Guys! Calm down! If you keep yelling, you're gonna wake the babies up!"

In unison, Natalia and Hikaru snapped at Tamaki. "SHUT THE HELL UP TAMAKI! THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!"

Another one done for. Only three left.

**_Six shots down._ **

The screaming continued between Hikaru and Natalia. Chris sighed and ran his hands through his hair, still completely unaffected by the alcohol. Kaoru stared at the two confused and oblivious to what was actually happening.

Kyoya continued to play with Sam's hair as he kissed and hugged her. His complements got sappier by the minute. Haruhi continued to laugh at nothing and lean against Tamaki.

The next to go was . . . Samantha.

The red-headed woman hiccupped and kissed Kyoya on the cheek before peeling him off of her.

"Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?" After a moment of fanning herself off, Samantha pulled at the bottom of her shirt and then completely slipped her shirt off, leaving her in a bra and shorts.

She stood up as Kyoya began reaching out for her. "Sam! What are you doing? Come back! Put your shirt back on!"

Samantha stood up on her chair and let her hair loose from her ponytail. "I'm having fun!" She moved her hands to start undoing her decorative belt, and Kyoya latched onto her leg.

"No! Sam, stop! Only I'm allowed to see you like this! Sam! Please! Don't leave me!"

Tamaki looked over at Sam and choked on his own spit. "SAMANTHA MOREAU OOTORI! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

Samantha, who was now left in her bra and underwear, laughed. "Relax, Rene! I'm just having fun on vacation!"

"This is not the Sam I grew up with!"

Sam scoffed. "Alright, mom! Thanks for your input." She leaned down and picked up a bottle off of the table and held it up above the group. "Now who wants to have some fun!?" _The stripper drunk._

And then there were two.

**_Seven shots down._ **

Takashi and Chris still seemed un-phased from the amount of tequila in their bodies.

But around them, all hell was breaking loose.

Kaoru, still completely oblivious to what he or anyone else was doing, was actually doing body shots off of Samantha.

Kyoya was crying at Samantha's side, going on and on about how she didn't love him anymore and that no one else was allowed to see her like this.

Natalia went back and forth between screaming at Hikaru to crying at Kaoru's side about how he was betraying her and he didn't love her anymore. She kept mentioning that Kaoru was leaving her for Sam because Sam was "prettier than her."

Haruhi was giggling and humming as she leaned against a very stressed out Tamaki. And when he wasn't fighting with Natalia, Hikaru glared at his drink and complained about life to Chris.

Meanwhile, the non-drinkers sat back and watched chaos unleash. Sofia sighed contently as everyone fell apart around her except for her husband and Chris. She leaned on Takashi's shoulder and spoke. "Takashi, if you let Chris win, I'm gonna be really upset." Sofia smiled up at him. "Okay?"

Mitsukuni and Reiko sat quietly and ate cake at their side of the table. Reiko remained quiet, only making a small remark to her husband every once and a while. Mitsukuni, on the other hand, laughed and enjoyed the show making comments like "Oh, they're gonna feel that in the morning" and "This is a lot more entertaining than just Takashi and Sofia."

The only other non-drinker, Tamaki, was a complete emotional wreck. He kept yelling over at Sam to put her clothes back on and at Kyoya to calm down. He was pretty content with the way Haruhi was acting, since she was relatively calm. And he had given trying up a while ago to stop Nat and Hikaru from screaming at each other. They hadn't woken the babies up yet, so there was no chance they were waking up now.

**_Eight shots down._ **

Chaos continued to break out around the room as the last two were left: Christian and Takashi.

The two laughed as the rest of the group got more and more intoxicated. Neither of them seemed phased by the tequila.

Sofia leaned forward and laughed. "Chris, I had no idea you could hold this much. I have to say, I'm impressed."

Chris finished his eighth shot and smiled over at Sofia. "I was pretty much raised on this. I feel like since my dad's an alcoholic, the universe decided to make it so that I can't get drunk. I'd say it's a blessing and a curse."

**_Nine shots down._ **

Haruhi had fallen asleep on Tamaki's shoulder. Hikaru and Natalia had taken their screaming outside, under the supervision of Mitsukuni. Samantha was passed out in Kyoya's lap as he played with her hair and held her close. Kaoru was now sitting on the counter wrapping his arm in plastic wrap and singing Mr. Cellophane.

Chris was still completely un-phased.

But Takashi finally broke. He had just scooted closer to Sofia and began kissing her neck and whispering in her ear, causing her to blush. She kept smacking his arm and telling him to focus, but it was no use. _The flirty drunk._

**_Ten shots down._ **

Chris leaned back in his chair after finishing his tenth and final shot. "I'm surrounded by lightweights. . . "

He had beaten out everyone, even Takashi.

Takashi and Sofia were now in a heated lip-lock that seemed to be going on forever.

A moment later, Mitsukuni came back into the room with Hikaru and Natalia following close behind, still screaming at each other.

He looked over at Takashi and Sofia and sighed. Chris sat up and stretched. "Well, I guess I won."

Mitsukuni laughed and sat back down next to Reiko. "I'm impressed. The only one able to beat Takashi at this is Sofia."

Chris leaned back and put his feet up on the table. "Like I said, I was raised on this."

And then there was one.

* * *

The next morning was slow and confusing.

Hikaru woke up on the floor of his and Chris's room, but Chris was already out of bed and getting dressed. The older twin sat up and rubbed his temples as his head pounded.

"Oh my God." He looked back up at Chris, who had just sat down at the edge of the bed.

Chris, who had virtually no sign of a hangover, looked down at Hikaru. "So Princess Pouty is finally awake, is she?"

Hikaru stood up slowly and groaned. "Dude, enough with the nickname . . . How much did you even have? You look like you didn't drink at all."

Chris laughed and stood up. "More than you, ya damn lightweight."

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not a lightweight."

He glared at Hikaru. "You had four shots. Four . . . You were the third one out."

"Well when did you get out?"

He started to walk towards the door and chuckled. "I didn't. It was down to Takashi and me. He started sucking Sofia's face off at nine shots. I had ten before I got tired of drinking."

Haruhi woke to an empty bed. Tamaki had already gotten up and moved to the kitchen to help with breakfast.

She sat up and immediately felt like someone had punched her in the face, and hard. But for some reason, she still felt really happy. Haruhi felt like she had a lot of fun and that the pain she was feeling was strangely worth it.

But then she stood up. And not long after that, she was hunched over in the bathroom.

Takashi woke up with little struggle. All he felt from the previous night was a little soreness in his muscles.

He looked over and noticed that Sofia wasn't there. She was also in the kitchen helping with breakfast.

So, Takashi got out of bed and got dressed before moving to the kitchen.

Samantha woke up in bed to find herself completely naked, and Kyoya latched onto her. She looked over at the time and groaned. The slightest movement of her head caused it to pound like crazy. She then plopped her head back down and sighed, causing Kyoya to wake up.

Kyoya's eyes widened as he woke up. "What the hell?! Why are you completely naked?" He sat up and then held his head in his hands. "And why does my head pound so much."

Samantha laughed tiredly at her husband. "I didn't know you were such a lightweight, Kyoya. And a clingy one at that."

She slowly at up and began to look for some clothes to throw on. "And I didn't know that I don't like clothes when I'm drunk. . ."

Kaoru and Natalia woke up in bed at the same time. They were in each other's arms like usual. They looked over at each other and Kaoru smiled at Nat.

But Nat just looked at Kaoru confused and sat up. "What the hell did you do last night, Kaoru?"

"What?" He sat up and looked at his shirtless chest and then his eyes went wide. "What the hell?!"

His chest and arms were completely wrapped in plastic wrap. "Holy shit, what did I do last night? How drunk did I get?"

Natalia sighed and rubbed her temples as she sat up. "Well . . . It didn't take much to get you drunk. You were barely the second one out. Kyoya was first. . ."

Kaoru plopped back down against the pillow and groaned. "Dammit . . ." He looked over at Natalia. "Can you help me get this off?"

From all sides of the house, the participants of the drinking contest of that previous night emerged from their respective bedrooms.

Haruhi was wearing one of Tamaki's t-shirts and a pair of shorts. She had her hair pulled back in a messy pony-tail and was still a bit pale from her most recent activities.

Hikaru was wearing a pair of sunglasses with his pajamas, which was only a pair of silk pajama pants and no shirt.

Kaoru walked with similar pajamas but no sunglasses. Natalia followed closely behind, wearing a silk nightgown and her hair pulled back into a bun. As she walked behind her husband, she picked little pieces of plastic wrap off of his back and neck that they weren't able to get off before.

Kyoya and Samantha walked side by side, both sloppily dressed in everyday clothes. Both of their hair was a mess and Kyoya wasn't even wearing his glasses. Samantha had dark circles under her eyes but she wore a calm and happy expression. Kyoya, on the other hand, wore an angry and brooding expression as he glared at the others through his bloodshot eyes.

The two heaviest drinkers, Takashi and Christian, walked into the kitchen quickly and calmly. Both of the men seemed perfectly fine and were dressed and ready to start the day.

Sofia smiled and kissed Takashi on the lips. "Good morning."

Tamaki, Mitsukuni, and Reiko all maneuvered around each other to prepare breakfast with Sofia.

Slowly but surely, the rest of the group made their way into the dining room that was connected to the kitchen and sat down at the table once more.

Sofia laughed as she saw the sad and tired crowd arrive. "So, who's hungry?" She almost shouted this as the group groaned in protest. Haruhi, though, placed her hands on the table and pushed herself up before rushing to the bathroom. Tamaki put what he was doing down quickly and followed her. "Haruhi, darling!"

"Okay. Besides Haruhi, who is hungry? There's plenty of food!" She was shouting now, and it was on purpose.

Hikaru lifted his head off the table and glared at her through his ridiculous sunglasses. "Do you really have to shout? Can't you be a little quieter?"

Sofia laughed loudly and then walked over to Hikaru before she continued shouting. "I dunno, can I?! You and Nat seemed to like to shout at each other a lot last night! It got kind of annoying actually! So I think I'll stop shouting now." She said the last sentence quietly and walked back to the kitchen.

The group sighed in relief, but their happiness was soon cut short when Sofia picked up a pan and a wooden spoon. "Rise and shine everyone! We're on vacation! Cheer up lazy bums!" She was hitting the pan loudly with the spoon and laughing at the group.

Takashi stood at the counter and chuckled quietly but Chris laughed loudly at the groups complaints.

"She's right, guys! We're on vacation! Have some fun, you damn lightweights!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there ya have it! I couldn't help but laugh my ass of while writing this. My sister helped me decide what kind of drunk everyone is.
> 
> In case you were curious, Sofia is also a flirty drunk and Tamaki is the singing drunk.
> 
> I honestly have no idea what Honi and Reiko would be.
> 
> And this whole thing came from a headcanon that my sister came up with that Takashi and Sofia have drinking contests on occasion (not a lot but not rarely) and that is actually how she got pregnant HA! I mean yes they do frickle frackle when sober but that just happened to be how she got pregnant.
> 
> SO I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS AS MUCH AS I DID.
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW!
> 
> Until next time, Chapter 16 - Commoners.
> 
> PS- That is a Tamaharu chapter and there will be a lot more Tamaharu chapters from now on yay!
> 
> AGAIN PLEASE REVIEW~


	17. Keeping Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty readers! I know this chapter is being posted a little later than I usually do, but since I posted two last week, and one of them was over 6,000 words, I think this is justified.
> 
> So I had two other chapters that I planned on writing before this one, but they were just so fuckin lame and bland that I couldn't bring myself to actually write them.
> 
> So this chapter was supposed to be chapter 18 but it ended up being chapter 16! So here have a wonderful chapter with a huge "WAIT WHAT?!" moment in it.
> 
> My sister and bff Sam were huge helps with coming up with this chapter idea.
> 
> So ENJOY! AND PLEASE REVIEW!

April 11 2017

"Haruhi! I'm home!" Tamaki walked into his house after being gone since Friday. He had another business meeting to attend to in Japan.

"We're upstairs!"

He set his bags down in the foyer and walked upstairs. He walked over to the nursery, where he heard Haruhi's voice come from, and found Haruhi changing Antoine's clothes while Chris played with Akemi on the floor.

"Oh, hey Chris. What brings you here?"

Christian stood up and smiled at Tamaki, leaving Akemi to play with her toys. "I was your darling little angels' official babysitter while you were gone. I have nothing better to do during the day and I wasn't going to let you two send the twins to daycare at this age. So I volunteered to take care of them during the day, free of charge."

Tamaki smiled back at his friend. "Well that was very nice of you, Chris. Thank you."

He laughed. "Anytime, Tamaki." He walked over and picked up his keys off of the changing table. "Well I guess I'd better get going. Gotta get home and make sure Hikaru isn't making any destructive decisions. Maybe the day will come where I don't have to say that." He leaned over and kissed Haruhi on the cheek before picking Akemi up and kissing her forehead. She started reaching out for Tamaki when Chris walked towards him. "Here is your darling girl." He handed Akemi to Tamaki and started to leave. "Really, anytime you need someone to watch them, I'd be happy to. See you guys later!"

In unison, Tamaki and Haruhi shouted after their friend. "Thanks Chris!"

Once he was gone Tamaki walked over to Haruhi and kissed her on the lips. "How are you, my queen?"

She picked up Antoine and put him in the crib, and then turned back to take Akemi. "I'm doing great. How was your trip?" She took Akemi and put her in the crib with her brother. The twins stood holding onto the rail and staring at their parents for a moment before sitting down sleepily. They slowly started falling asleep as Tamaki and Haruhi spoke.

Tamaki shrugged. "The same as usual. Boring. Slow. A lot of old men thinking that they know what's best for the company."

Haruhi smiled at her husband and pulled her hair into a ponytail. "Are you hungry? I can make us some dinner if you want."

"Actually I wanted to talk to you about something." He had a tinge of seriousness in his voice now, which caused Haruhi to give a slight frown.

"What is it? Is something wrong?"

Tamaki shook his head. "No not really. Or at least, I don't think so." He paused. "I was just wondering if you would agree to take Antoine and Akemi to visit my parents."

"Why now? Is there a specific reason for this?"

"Well, they are already a year old. And your father has already met them, but either we've been too busy or my parents have been too busy for them to meet the kids. The only times I've seen them in. . . . wow, the past five years now that I think about it . . . was when I visited my mother after we got engaged, and at our wedding."

Haruhi put her finger on her chin. "Hm. Yeah I have noticed that we tend to see my dad a lot more than we see your parents." She paused for a moment and smiled up at Tamaki. "So, I guess there's no harm in going to France for a little bit."

Tamaki pulled his wife into a hug and laughed. He then pulled apart and smiled down at her. "Let's make this a nice little surprise visit!"

* * *

 _Three day later,_ Tamaki and Haruhi had arrived in France with the twins. They were pulling up to Tamaki's parents' estate when Haruhi looked over at her husband.

"Are you sure we should make this a surprise? I mean, what if they're busy or something?"

Tamaki laughed and looked over at Haruhi. "How busy can they be, Haruhi? My father is retired and my mother doesn't work. It'll be fine."

Then they pulled up to the estate and got out of the car. As they walked up to the front door, Haruhi started to look worried. "Haruhi, don't worry. Like I said, it'll be fine."

"You know I'm not a huge fan of surprise visits, Tamaki."

They rang the doorbell and waited after hearing Tamaki's mother shout "coming!" from the other side.

_"Mistress Anne-Sophie, I will get the door for you." One of the servants spoke to Tamaki's mother inside._

_She laughed and walked towards the door. "Oh, it's alright. I'm already here anyways."_

Anne-Sophie opened the door to see her son and his wife, and her face went pale. She rushed outside and closed the door behind her. "Tamaki! What are you doing here, darling?" She gave him a nervous smile.

He smiled back at his mother. "Well I thought it was about time you met your grandchildren, and I missed you and Dad. So I decided to pay a surprise visit!"

She chuckled nervously. "But you couldn't have called us first? You know like a heads-up letting your father and I know you'll be coming over?"

Haruhi glared over at Tamaki. "See, I told you we should've called first." She smiled over at her mother-in-law. "Sorry to bother you, Mrs. Suoh. Tamaki just really wanted to see you again."

She smiled over at Haruhi and kissed her on the cheek. "Oh you aren't bothering me, darling! I am just surprised to see the two of you." She paused and looked at the two babies. "And these must be Antoine and Akemi. They're absolutely beautiful." Anne-Sophie gestured towards the door. "How about we go inside and get you all settled?"

Anne-Sophie turned and opened the door and leaned over to whisper to a servant standing nearby. "Make sure Alex stays in his room for a little bit, alright? And tell Yuzuru to come down here."

Tamaki looked over at his mother, confused. "Is everything alright, mother? You seem a bit worried."

She smiled back at her son as she led them into the parlor. "Oh, yes. Everything's just fine, Tamaki. No need to worry."

They all sat down in the parlor and Anne-Sophie took Akemi in her arms. "They really are so beautiful. They look just like both of you."

Tamaki laughed and smiled. "They have proven to be a handful though."

Haruhi laughed at that comment as she bounced Antoine on her lap.

"So where is Dad?"

She gave another nervous laugh. "Oh, he should be here soon. I asked one of the servants to go tell him you're here."

A quick moment later, Tamaki's father's voice was heard moving towards the parlor. "Anne, darling. You called me down here? And why did you send Alex to his ro-" He stopped mid-sentence when he saw his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren in the parlor with his wife. "Tamaki? Haruhi? What are you doing all the way in France?"

Tamaki stood up and went over to hug his father. "I thought it would be nice to pay you and mother a surprise visit. And this way you can finally meet the twins." He pulled away and looked back and forth at his parents. "Who's this Alex you just mentioned?"

From outside the parlor, the voice of a small boy could be heard. "But I don't want to stay in my room. I want to be with my mother!"

A small boy, around five years of age, stormed into the parlor where everyone else was. He was a bit tall for his age and had light brown hair and brown eyes. He froze in his place as soon as he saw everyone in the parlor.

"Mom? Dad?" He stared at Tamaki as he spoke.

Tamaki looked at his parents, confused. "Who is this? And why is he referring to you as his parents?"

The young boy spoke slowly. "Is this really-"

Anne-Sophie sighed and looked over at the boy. "Tamaki this is your-"

The boy ran over to Tamaki and grabbed onto his hands. "Big brother! I've waited so long to finally meet you!"

Tamaki's eyes went wide and he and Haruhi spoke in unison. "Wait, what?!"

* * *

Tamaki paced the floor of the guest room that he and Haruhi were staying in. The babies were staying in a nursery across the hall. He ran his fingers through his hair as he struggled to find what words to rant with.

"I-I just . . . Why? How? W-when?!" He turned to face his wife. "What?!"

Haruhi sighed at her husband as she watched him pace in front of her. "Tamaki, calm down. I told you we should've called first. Something like this was bound to happen."

"Something like THIS?! The fact that I have a five year old brother that I'm just finding out about now?! That was bound to happen?!"

She sighed again. "Okay, I admit this was a bigger surprise than I thought. But, it's not a bad surprise. I think it's great that you have a little brother! And he seems like a nice kid."

Tamaki continued to pace as his face turned scarlet. "But- It just . . . It's weird, Haruhi! I'm almost thirty! He is five! My parents are old! Yeah my mom is ten years younger but . . . Why the hell is this happening!? Why the fuck didn't they tell me!?"

Haruhi stifled a laugh as her husband ranted.

"What's so funny . . ."

She held back her laughter and looked up at Tamaki. "You may freak out about a lot of things, but never this bad." She let out a small laugh. "I just think it's funny to hear you swear like that. It's really rare, coming from you."

Tamaki opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it and sat down on the bed, next to Haruhi. "I just don't get it. Why couldn't they have just told me when she got pregnant? And why did they wait so long to have another child?"

Haruhi shrugged and turned to Tamaki. "Maybe they had a good reason not to. And maybe they didn't plan on having another child. Maybe Alex just kind of happened."

Tamaki groaned and fell back onto the bed. "I'm not happy with any of this . . ."

Haruhi stood up off of the bed. "Well why don't we get ready for dinner? Since our first impression was a bit rough, might as well try to make a good second impression with your brother."

* * *

"Would you like some more wine, Master Tamaki?"

Without looking at the servant, Tamaki responded. "Yes, thank you." He barely looked up from his plate throughout dinner.

"Tamaki . . . Don't you think you've had enough wine?" Haruhi looked at her husband, who was in the seat next to her.

Without looking up, Tamaki spoke calmly to his wife. "I'm an adult, Haruhi. I am allowed to drink alcohol if I desire to."

Alexandre, who was sitting across from Tamaki, fidgeted in his seat as his brother spoke. He looked up at his mother, who was sitting next to him. "Can I have some too?"

Just like Tamaki did with Haruhi, Anne-Sophie spoke calmly to her second son without looking up from her plate. "No. You're too young for that Alex."

He pushed his food around with his fork and pouted. "But big brother gets to have some . . ."

"That's because he's older than you. When you are his age, you can have some wine, too."

Tamaki mumbled as he ate his food. "More than twenty years older . . . "

Yuzuru sighed at Tamaki's comment and looked over at him. "Tamaki, that was unnecessary."

"I think having another child was a bit unnecessary. . ."

Haruhi smacked her husband on the arm. "Tamaki, stop it!"

Anne-Sophie looked over at her elder son. "Tamaki darling . . . We meant to tell you earlier, but we were afraid of how you'd react."

Tamaki took another swig of his wine. "Maybe my reaction would have been better if you two would have told me from the start." He paused for a moment and looked back and forth between his parents. "And isn't it a little late to have another child for you two?"

"Tamaki . . . " Haruhi sighed and tried to get her husband to stop talking.

"And didn't HE-" Tamaki gestured to Alex who just looked around at the adults, confused but intrigued in their conversation, "-wonder why I had yet to meet him?"

"Come on Tamaki, that's enough?"

"I had plenty of opportunities to meet him."

"You can stop now, Tamaki."

"Like at my wedding. Or the time I came here to visit you when you got sick last year. Where was my darling brother then?"

"Tamaki."

"When did you two even plan on telling me? When I turned thirty? Or maybe even longer. Forty maybe?"

Yuzuru and Anne-Sophie were silent as their elder son spoke. Haruhi seemed to be the only one trying to stop Tamaki from talking anymore.

"Tamaki, stop it! You're being ridiculous!"

He looked over at his wife, appalled. "I'm being ridiculous? I've just found out that I have a younger brother that has been hidden for me since he was conceived! I think that it's only natural for me to be upset about something like this!"

Yuzuru finally spoke up. "Tamaki, please try to understand why we didn't tell you. . ."

"Understand?! I was in the understanding that I was an only child! I was under the impression that I was good enough for you two! But apparently I didn't understand then! So what makes you think I'm going to be able to understand now?!"

Tamaki then pushed his chair out from under him and stormed out of the dining room.

Alexandre looked down at his plate and frowned. "Big brother Tamaki is mad at me, isn't he?"

Anne-Sophie sighed and rubbed her son's back, reassuringly. "No, he's not mad at you dear. He's mad at your father and me . . ."

* * *

"Tamaki?" Haruhi spoke quietly as she walked into the nursery. Tamaki sat in a chair in the corner with his knees pulled to his chest, and the twins were asleep.

He didn't look up at his wife when she walked in. He only acknowledged her presence with a small "hey" when she sat down in a chair next to him.

She sighed and looked over at him. "So . . . Are you calmed down now?"

Without looking at her, he shrugged. "I guess."

"What brought you to say all of that at dinner? It was pretty rude, after all. And talking like that, especially to your mother, is unlike you."

He mumbled as he looked down at the floor. "They were keeping secrets."

"What?"

Tamaki looked over at his wife. "They were keeping secrets, Haruhi. They treated me as if I were a child that wouldn't understand when they told me . . . I never thought that my own parents would keep something like this from me."

Haruhi sighed. "Well you did act like a child earlier." She gave her husband a small frown. "It was ridiculous, Tamaki. And now your brother thinks that you're upset with him."

Tamaki put his feet back on the floor and leaned back in the chair. "It's not him. He's not the one at fault for this. It's my parents. Well, our parents. And I just find it weird that he knew about me all this time but I knew absolutely nothing about him."

"Well do you want to know about him? Because as of now it seems to everyone that you want nothing to do with him."

"Of course I do, Haruhi! He's my little brother! Why wouldn't I?"

She shrugged. "Well, if you really want to, why don't you start now? You can go talk to him. Make it known that you aren't upset with him."

Just then they heard a small knock at the nursery door. A quick second later, the door was being opened and Alex poked his head through the door. "Big brother?"

Tamaki smiled at the boy and gave a small laugh. "You can come in, Alex."

The brown haired boy walked into the room but stayed by the door, frowning. "Are- Are you still mad at me?"

Tamaki sighed. "I was never mad at you. I was mad at our parents for not telling me about you." He sat up and gestured for the boy to come sit with him. "Come here. Sit with me."

The little boy smiled wide and ran over to sit on his brother's lap.

"Okay. So, I want to get to know my little brother. But first how about you tell me what you already know about me?"

Alex nodded. "Alright." He paused for a moment. "But did Mom and Dad really not tell you about me?"

Tamaki laughed. "Unfortunately, yes. This morning was the first time I've heard of you."

"Oh . . . " Alex settled himself in Tamaki's lap before continuing. "So. What do I know about you . . . Well, I already knew what you looked like because we have pictures of you." He turned and looked at Haruhi for a moment. "And you too, Miss Haruhi. Mom and Dad have a picture from your wedding."

Haruhi laughed and smiled at the boy. "You don't have to call me that, Alex. You can just call me Haruhi."

Alex smiled and nodded. He then turned back to Tamaki. "And I know that you were born before Mom and Dad got married, so you were raised by Mom until you were fourteen, and then you moved to Japan with Dad, right?"

The blond laughed. "Our parents did tell you a lot about me, didn't they?"

Alex shot up suddenly. "OH! I remember something Mom told me about you! She told me that you're really good at the piano. When Mom told me that, I started learning how to play too. But I'm probably nowhere near as good as you, big brother."

"Well it takes a lot of practice, Alex. I've been playing the piano for a long time now."

"Can we play together later? We can play something for Mom!"

He smiled at the boy and nodded. "I would love to. That would be wonderful."

"Oh and they told me that you're super smart and really nice too! And that you-"

Tamaki laughed at his younger brother. "Alright, it seems like you pretty much know it all. How about you tell me about you now? Like let's start with your real name. I only know you by Alex. That must be short for Alexandre, right? And I assume you have our father's last name."

Alex nodded. "Yep. My real name is Alexandre. And I have Mom and Dad's last names. You do too, right? My full name is Alexandre Sousuke Raphael Louis de Grantaine Suoh."

"Wow that's even longer than mine. I didn't think that was actually possible. Alright Mister Alexandre, what else can you tell me about yourself?"

"Well I have brown hair and brown eyes like Dad."

Tamaki chuckled. "That you do."

 **"** I am five years old, but I'm almost six. My birthday is September 8th. Uhm . . . You are my big brother . . Uhm . . . Well that's me."

"Well what about what you like? What do you like to do in your spare time?"

"Oh! Yeah! Uhm . . . I like to draw pictures. Most people say I'm good at it. They say that I'm a lot better than other five year olds. And I like to play piano, like you. And I like to play soccer. Oh and I like books. Mom and Dad get me a lot of books and I like them all."

Tamaki smiled at Alexandre. "You are a very interesting boy, Alex. I'm glad that you're my brother."

Alex's eyes widened along with his smile. "Really?! You're the best big brother ever, Tamaki!" He wrapped his arms around Tamaki's chest and hugged him tight. "I'm glad I finally got to meet you."

The blond laughed and hugged him back before picking him up and setting him on the ground. "I am too, Alex. Now how about we go and play piano for Mother?"

The boy nodded quickly and laughed. He pulled on Tamaki's hand and shouted. "This is going to be so fun, big brother! Mom and Dad will be really happy!"

The sudden shouting was enough to wake the twins up. Antoine started crying first, followed shortly by Akemi.

Haruhi stood up and walked over to the crib. "I got it, Tamaki. You two can go."

But instead of leading Tamaki out of the room, Alex let go of his brother's hand and ran over to the crib. He stood on his toes and looked at the crying infants with amazement. "These are the babies you from this morning, right?"

The boy looked back and forth between Tamaki and Haruhi. "Are they _your_ babies?!"

Haruhi laughed as she picked up Antoine. "Yes they are, Alex."

Tamaki walked over and picked Akemi up. "This is your niece, Akemi." He gestured to Antoine in Haruhi's arms. "And that is your nephew, Antoine. These are mine and Haruhi's children. They're twins."

Alexandre looked at the two babies and smiled. "Woooaahh. They're so little! Mom and Dad didn't tell me that you two were a mom and dad!"

Tamaki and Haruhi both laughed at the boy. Tamaki then grabbed Alexandre's hand and started to lead him out of the room. "Come on. We can take them with us to go play piano."

"Woah! Babies can play piano, too!"

Tamaki laughed loudly. "No, they can't Alex. They're just gonna watch us."

* * *

_Three Days Later_

"But I don't want you to go!" Alexandre Suoh clung onto his older brother's leg as Tamaki carried his and his wife's luggage to the front door.

"I know, Alex. But we have to go back home now."

"But why can't this be your home?! We have enough room and I can help take care of the babies!"

Tamaki set the luggage down and picked Alexandre up off of his leg. "I'm a grown up, Alex. I have my own family to take care of now. Just like Mom and Dad take care of you now. Haruhi and I have a home in Boston that we need to go back to." He set the boy down. "But you can come and visit anytime you want, okay?"

The brown haired boy ran and wrapped his arms tight around Tamaki's waist. "I'll miss you, big brother." He looked up at Tamaki. "I love you!"

Tamaki smiled and hugged his brother back. "I love you too, Alex. And I'll miss you too."

Alexandre let go of Tamaki and then ran over to Haruhi, who was holding the twins. He wrapped his arms around Haruhi's waist for a quick hug and then let go. "Goodbye, Miss Haruhi." Even after three days of telling him to just call her Haruhi, he still called her miss. "Bye Antoine! Bye Akemi! I'll miss you!"

After an overabundance of "goodbye's" and "I'll miss you's" Tamaki and Haruhi, with a baby in each arm, were finally walking out of the front door with Tamaki's parents walking them out. Alexandre watched them leave from one of the large front windows.

Once the luggage was set, Tamaki turned to say goodbye to his parents. "I'm sorry about the way I acted when we first got here . . ."

Anne-Sophie smiled and hugged her son. "It's alright, Tamaki. I'm just glad you and Alex get along."

"We are really sorry that we didn't tell you earlier, son." Yuzuru walked up next to his wife. "We honestly didn't know how to tell you. You've been an only child for so long that we were afraid you wouldn't like Alex."

Tamaki pulled his father into a hug. "Alexandre is a wonderful boy. And he's very lucky to have both of you to raise him." He pulled apart and looked at his two parents. "Just . . . Promise me something, Mom and Dad. Promise me that he will grow up with both of his parents. And promise me that you'll come visit sometime or we'll come here."

Yuzuru and Anne-Sophie nodded. "You have nothing to worry about, Tamaki darling." Anne-Sophie leaned in and kissed her son on the cheek. "No you go take care of your family."

Haruhi walked over to the group, and as soon as Akemi saw her father, she began reaching out for him. Tamaki took the girl from Haruhi and laughed. "Will do." He looked over at Haruhi. "Is everything ready to go?"

Haruhi nodded. "Yep. Just waiting on us now."

Tamaki then walked over and got in the car with Akemi. As Haruhi was starting to do the same, Anne-Sophie called for her. "Haruhi."

Haruhi turned to face her mother-in-law. "Thank you for taking care of Tamaki. It makes me happy to see you two happy together."

The brunette laughed and smiled. "It's not as hard as some may think."

The blond woman pulled Haruhi into a hug and kissed her on the cheek. "Don't let anything come between you two, okay?"

Haruhi nodded and smiled. After that Yuzuru hugged his daughter-in-law and Haruhi and Tamaki were off to Boston.

Tamaki turned to his wife as they sat in the car. "You know, even though I was upset about it at first . . . I actually enjoyed this secret my parents kept from me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so before you ask, THIS AGE GAP IS COMPLETELY REASONABLE!
> 
> And since it says that the lovely Mr. Yuzuru Suoh was 48 when Tamaki was 17, but they didn't have an age for Anne-Sophie, I decided to make the lovely couple ten years apart. It did after all say that Yuzuru fell in love with a YOUNG french woman soooo yah.
> 
> So that means that at the time of Alexandre's birth, Yuzuru was around 53 (which isn't that bad) and Anne-Sophie was around 43 (which I can confirm is not bad because my aunt, who is about 48, just had a baby a year ago). Making Tamaki somewhere around 22 years older than his brother.
> 
> So yeah WOOO PLOT TWISTS!
> 
> Anyways! Next chapter will be posted soon because I already wrote it.
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW!


	18. We Finally Did It, Baby!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about this readers! I know I said soon for this chapter, but I just started school today so I've been a bit busy. I will try to get chapters up as fast as possible from now on!
> 
> This chapter is another multi-couple chapter including: Takashi and Sofia, Kaoru and Natalia, and OF COURSE Hikaru and Chris.
> 
> So enjoy this fluff (and hinted sexiness near the end) and have a good time! I will try to post the next chapter this weekend! Thanks for reading! Oh and ps- this chapter title is a huge hint at the theme of this chapter "babies!" And it is very reminiscent of a space dandy episode title. But oh well! Have fun!
> 
> Please review!
> 
> Without further ado- Here's chapter 17!

**_July 8_ ** **_th_ ** **_, 2017_ **

"Hey, Nat!" Kaoru shouted for his wife as he walked through the front door. He was holding a dress in front of him and smiling at it. "Someone designed this really nice dress and showed it to me today. I thought you would like it so I asked if I could give it to you before we make more of them."

He noticed that Natalia hadn't responded yet, so he walked to their bedroom. "Nat? Are you even home? I mean, your car is still here so . . ."

Kaoru walked in his bedroom to find his wife standing in front of the mirror pulling her hair into a messy ponytail. She was in shorts and a t-shirt and her face was pale and a bit sweaty. "Hun, are you alright? You look sick."

She smiled at her husband and sat down on the edge of the bed to start putting her tennis-shoes on. "Oh, hi! I didn't hear you come in. How long have you been home?"

Kaoru sat down next to Natalia and stared questioningly at her. "I've only been home for a few minutes. I was calling for you by the front door, like usual, but you didn't respond." He paused for a moment, dress still in hand. "Nat, what's wrong?"

Natalia smiled over at Kaoru and laughed. "I'm fine, Kaoru. I was just about to go out on a run, that's all."

He still stared at her. "Nat, you look like you just came from a run. That and you look really pale. Are you sure you're okay?"

She looked down at the dress in her husband's hand and took it. "Awe, is this for me? It's beautiful, Hun. I love it!" She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek before standing up and laying the dress on the bed. "I'm gonna go on a quick run, okay? I'll be right back. I just need some air."

Kaoru stood up and followed his wife out of their bedroom. "Natalia." She froze. He only used her full name when he was being serious. He usually used nicknames for her. "What is going on? You're acting really weird, and I want to know why."

Natalia walked over to her husband and grabbed his hands. She smiled up at him. "Hun, don't worry about me. I'm fine. Like I said, I just need some air. I'll be back soon, okay?"

She then kissed him on the cheek once more and left on her run. Oddly enough, she took her car . . .

Almost exactly forty-five minutes later, Natalia returned home. As she pulled back into the driveway, she noticed Kaoru standing in the doorway. +

She walked up to the front door as Kaoru spoke. "How was your run, Nat? I didn't know you can run with cars now. When did that happen?"

Natalia brushed off her husband's comments and pulled him into the house. Once the door was closed, Kaoru looked over at his wife, who was smiling wider than a child on Christmas.

She simply grabbed onto both of Kaoru's hands and smiled at him.

"Okay, what's this all about? First you're acting all mysterious and weird. Now you're all happy for some reason. . . Where did you even go?"

She took a quick breath and composed herself so that she would stop smiling for a moment. "I went to the doctor."

"Why? Are you sick?"

She looked over at him with an indifferent expression. "Well. . . At first I thought I was. I was actually throwing up all day. That's why I looked like a mess when you got home. And I didn't respond because I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when you were calling me."

Nat paused for a moment and took another breath. She had a wide smile on her face once again.

"Well? Are you sick?"

She shook her head and continued. "Okay. So, remember how we both went to the doctor a few weeks ago? And they said we couldn't have kids . . . because I'm barren?"

Kaoru frowned slightly at the mention of that visit. "I try not to. You know, it wasn't a really happy day, Nat . . . What about it?"

She smiled even wider and squeezed Kaoru's hands tight. "Well . . . They were wrong."

Kaoru's eyes went wide. "Wait . . . You mean you're-"

Nat laughed and nodded. "Yeah! I'm pregnant!"

The younger twin laughed and pulled his wife into a hug. "I can't believe this! How did this even happen?"

They pulled apart and Natalia smiled up at her husband. "I have no idea. But it did." She paused for a moment and laughed excitedly. "Kaoru, we're finally gonna have a baby!"

He laughed and cupped his wife's face in his palms. "We finally did it!" He then pulled her into a long passionate kiss before finally breaking apart. "We finally did it, Nat."

* * *

Sofia walked into the living room holding a Crunch Bar wrapper. "Did you know," she spoke as she finished eating the candy bar, "that the crunchy bits in Crunch Bars –" She finished chewing the candy bar before continuing. "It's actually just rice. But it doesn't taste like rice. It's really weird."

Takashi smiled as he played with Yukimi on the living room floor. "Yeah. That is kind of weird."

Sofia walked over and sat down with her husband and daughter. She brushed her hand over the small amount of hair on the infant's head. "Did you already feed her?"

Takashi nodded. "A little while ago."

She smiled and sighed before scooting over to her husband and leaning against him. "Kashi, I'm bored." She looked up at him and smiled, giving him puppy dog eyes. "Can we do something fun? Like . . . I dunno, have a drinking contest maybe?"

Without hesitation Takashi looked over at his wife and spoke. "No." He paused to lift Yukimi into his lap. "You know you can't drink when you're pregnant, Sofia."

Sofia sat back up and pouted. "I know, but it's not fair. Why can't I have fun and be pregnant at the same time?" She paused for a moment. "Not to mention I just went through nine months of this with Yukimi."

He frowned slightly and played with his daughter's hands. "Do you not want any more kids after this?"

Sofia sighed and then laughed. "Of course I want more than just two. You may only have one brother but I have six brothers and two sisters. And don't even get me started on all of the cousins I grew up with. I'm used to big families, so that's what we're gonna have. I'm just . . . Ya know, bored. Being pregnant gets boring." She leaned back on her husband. "Maybe I should get a job. I still have a while to go before I would have to take maternity leave. I am only two months along . . ."

Takashi shrugged and pulled Sofia closer. "If you really want to, then go ahead. I'm pretty sure there is a pet shop in town that's hiring. It looks a lot like the one your family owned in Puerto Rico."

"Hmm. I don't know if I want to work at a pet shop again. I feel like if I ever do, I want to be the owner of it . . . But I'll definitely look into it!" She stretched up to kiss her husband on the cheek.

She sat back down against Takashi as the two continued to play with their daughter, who looked to be growing tired. After a moment, Sofia sat up quickly and gasped, putting her finger to her chin.

"What's wrong?" He looked over at his wife and held Yukimi to his chest as she fell asleep.

"That's it!" She turned and smiled at Takashi. "Since we already have a little baby, and soon we are going to have another one, I think we should get a baby dog! We should get a puppy!" She giggled at the thought and continued to smile. "It would be great! We would have a little puppy that would grow up with Yukimi and her little brother or sister, and it would be so adorable!"

She smiled at Takashi for a moment before actually asking him a question. "So? Can we get a puppy?"

Takashi laughed and smiled at his wife. "I don't see why not. I think it's a great idea."

Sofia squealed and threw her arms around Takashi's neck, causing Yukimi to wake back up and start crying. She then sighed and smiled, pulling Yukimi into her arms. "Shhh. Oh, my baby girl is sooo sleeepppyy. It's alright. Mommy's got you."

Yukimi slowly started to calm down as Sofia stood up and rocked her in her arms while singing "Goodnight My Angel." Once the baby was completely asleep, Sofia looked over at Takashi, who had also stood up by this point, and smiled.

"I'll go put her in the crib now." She whispered and stood on her tiptoes to kiss her husband. "I'll be right back."

* * *

"Why are we here?"

Chris sighed and looked at the produce in front of him. "Because I'm tired of going out to eat. We've been to every restaurant in the city. Including fast food. . ."

"So what's wrong with that?"

"Well working out is completely ineffective if we keep eating the crap that we are. And I can cook so I'm actually going to buy stuff to cook with."

Hikaru groaned as he followed Chris around the store. "But why am I here too?"

"Two reasons." Chris handed the basket to Hikaru. "One- Now I don't have to hold the basket. And two- you're the one with the money."

"I could have just given you my card. . ." Hikaru looked around the store. "And I don't like it here. We keep getting weird looks from people."

Chris laughed and put some peppers into the basket. "That, my dear Hikaru, is your classic case of homophobia. You better get used to it, because it doesn't really ever go away. And the fact that both of us are foreign doesn't help. You can't honestly tell me that you and Kaoru didn't get weird looks growing up."

"No not really. I mean the only weird looks we got were when we went to commoners places with Haruhi because we're rich . . At least that's what I think."

Chris smirked and picked out some more ingredients. "Alright, whatever you say."

Chris then took the basket from Hikaru. "I'll take this and get some more produce. You go around the corner and get a thing of grapes."

"Why?"

"Because I like grapes. Is there a problem with that?"

"No. Which ones do I get?"

"A mixed set. Red and Green. They might be in a little box. Oh and make sure it's a decent batch, alright?"

Hikaru sighed and started to walk away. "I'll do my best."

A moment after Hikaru walked away, Chris stepped on something, causing the item to squeak. "What the-"

He leaned down and picked up a little pink doll that had marker all over its face.

"Squeaky!" A little girl with light brown curly hair pulled into pig-tails came running in Chris's direction.

Chris smiled down at the girl, once she reached him, and crouched down to her level. She was only about four or five. "This little doll must be yours, right?"

She gave him a small nod but looked down at the floor.

Chris laughed and held the doll out to her. "It's alright. I accidentally stepped on her, but I think she'll be okay."

"Ali, how many times have I told you, you can't just run off like that in the store!?" A light haired woman, who looked to be in her thirties, walked over to the girl and picked her up. The little girl, whose name was apparently Ali, just held onto the doll and hid her face in her mother's shoulder without saying a word.

The woman looked over at Chris and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry for the trouble she caused. She drops her doll and wanders a lot."

He chuckled and waved her apology off. "It wasn't any trouble. She's a sweet girl, even though she doesn't say much."

The woman noticed Chris's accent and smiled. "You're not from around here are you?"

"It's the accent, isn't it?" He laughed. "No, I'm actually from Italy."

As the two conversed, Hikaru made his way back to Chris, with a bag of grapes in his hand. He looked at the grapes as he walked. "I hope these are the ones you wanted. They had a lot more than I thought."

Hikaru looked at Christian and then over at the woman and child. "Oh, who's this?"

"Oh this is-" He lingered on the word "is" realizing that the two hadn't exchanged names during their conversation.

She smiled and held out her free hand. "Katie. Nice to meet you!"

Katie shook Hikaru's hand and smiled. Christian smiled at Katie. "Katie, my name is Christian." He looked over at Hikaru. "And this is my boyfriend, Hikaru."

"Nice to meet you two!" She smiled at the couple.

Chris looked back at Hikaru. "Katie's daughter, Ali, dropped her doll over here and I returned it to her. And then Katie and I were just talking about Italy. Apparently, she used to travel there often when she was younger."

Katie nodded. "I know plenty of people with Italian heritage, but it's not as common to meet someone who is actually from Italy here. So meeting you is a real treat!"

The light haired man laughed. "Oh, well thank you! I've never gotten that reaction before."

Katie looked over at Hikaru and put her finger to her chin. "And you must be . . . Hmm . . . correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you're Japanese, right?"

Hikaru's eyes widened slightly with shock. "Wow, that's right. I'm impressed. How'd you know?"

She shrugged and laughed. "Intuition I guess."

At that, a small whining noise came from the child, whose face was still hidden in Katie's shoulder. Ali then began to pull at her mother's hair. "Alright, Ali. You can stop pulling my hair, now."

Chris looked at the child. "Well, I guess that's your cue. It was nice talking to you, Katie."

Katie pulled the girl's hands out of her hair. "It was nice talking to you, too. I'll see you around, Christian and Hikaru!" As she was leaving, Ali looked up from her mother's shoulder at Chris.

Chris smiled and waved at the girl, causing her to giggle and put her head back down.

"Well that was different." Hikaru put the grapes in the basket and took the basket from his boyfriend's hands.

"Yeah. That little girl was adorable, too." He paused and looked over at Hikaru. "Have you thought about having kids?"

Hikaru turned scarlet at the question. "Vaguely. But not really. Why?"

"I want kids. Well babies, actually. With you."

The twin choked on his own spit and looked back over at Christian. "D-don't you think that's a bit sudden?"

"Last time I mentioned kids, you said it was a conversation for another day. It's another day now so. . ."

"B-but doesn't marriage typically come before kids?"

Chris shrugged and moved to finish picking out produce. "Well not always. But if you put it that way. . . " He glanced back over at Hikaru. "Why don't we get married? I'm fine with either. Ya know babies or marriage. Or both. Preferably both, actually."

Hikaru continued to blush. "I'm fine with not talking about this now."

Christian laughed at his boyfriend and finished picking out ingredients. "Alright. We'll talk about it later. But for now let's pay for all of this and go home so I can cook our first actual meal in who knows how long." He started walking towards the registers when he turned back to Hikaru. "And yes you got the right grapes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty so I hope you enjoyed this cute chapter! I loved writing it so much! And I love writing Sofia because I literally just put something my sister would say into the chapter whenever Sofia has to speak. So yay!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! See you next time for chapter 18 - Movin On
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW!


	19. Movin' On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am awful I know! I was supposed to get this up on Sunday but I've been procrastinating omfg. And I usually only post a chapter if I have the next one already written. In this case I do not. I am having major writer's block.
> 
> So for this have a lovely fluffy-turned-sexy filler Hikaris chapter. I thought about this one a while ago and I had fun with this one.
> 
> So please enjoy Chris's dirty little secret!

**_September 20_ ** **_th_ ** **_, 2017_ **

He walked into the house and discarded his light coat and keys. "Hey, I'm home."

"Hey." Hikaru walked out of the kitchen holding a bowl of grapes. "Where'd you go?"

"Stop eating all my damn grapes." Chris laughed and picked up a handful of grapes from the bowl. "And I went to a new restaurant that just opened up."

The older twin shrugged. "Sounds boring." He walked to the living room. He sat down on the couch and pulled his already opened laptop in front of him. "Oh hey. I wanted to talk to you about something."

Chris sat down next to him and relaxed, taking more grapes as he got comfortable. "About what?"

Hikaru put the bowl between them and stared at his laptop. "I wanna move."

"Like to an actual house?"

"Well yeah."

"Or like a fancy rich people mansion?"

Hikaru looked over at Chris. "Well to you it'd probably be a mansion. But to me it's just a house. It'd be smaller than what I grew up in. But I guess it'd still be a pretty big place to live in your standards." He looked back down at his laptop.

Chris leaned back and closed his eyes. "Then we can't stay in the city. We can try to find a place in the same area Tamaki and Haruhi live. They have a nice house. I'm sure we can find a mansion type house out there."

Hikaru looked over at Chris with a blank expression. "No. I want to move out of the state. I think I want to go to California. It's just too boring here."

Chris opened his eyes and sat up. "Oh come on. Can't we just move to a house outside of the city? Why do you want to move all the way to California?"

"They have nice houses there. More stuff to do. I dunno it just sparked an interest with me. Why are you so against it? It's not like we have anything keeping us from moving."

Chris sighed and stood up, walking towards the bedroom. "That's not true." He came back a minute later in pajama pants and a t-shirt. "When I was out earlier, ya know at that restaurant, I was getting a job."

"Wait what? Why would you get a job? You don't need one."

The light haired man walked into the kitchen while he spoke. "Well I used to have one in Italy. Then I moved in with you. So I feel weird not working." He came back with a bottle of water. "And you may be rich, but I'm not even close to being rich. So I need to earn some money."

Hikaru looked up from his laptop. "You do realize that I'm willing to pay for-"

Chris held his hand up and cut Hikaru off. "Don't even. Not gonna happen. I'm an adult, so I can earn a living on my own. I'm not going to mooch off of my boyfriend forever."

The twin went back to his laptop and sighed. "Whatever you say." He paused for a moment as Chris sat back down next to him. He then looked over at him and spoke. "I still want to move. You can be a waiter in California too, ya know."

"I'm not a waiter. I'm a host."

Hikaru laughed at his comment.

"What's so funny?"

"You're a host. That just reminds me of high school."

Chris sighed and leaned back again to relax. "Oh yeah. That host club or whatever Kaoru told me about."

"I just pictured you as a member of it." He laughed again. "That'd be funny. I can't really see what type of host you'd be. I honestly don't think you'd be able to deal with that club."

"Well I'm a host of a restaurant. Not one of your dumb host club hosts."

Hikaru laughed again. "Well that's not much better."

"Hey, at least this job is better than my last one."

Hikaru's eyebrows rose in curiosity. "What was your last job?"

Chris opened his mouth to say something but then shut it again. "Not important."

"What was it like bad or something? Like drug dealing? Or sex trafficking?"

Chris glared at Hikaru. "I'm not stupid, Hikaru. My last job was embarrassing. Not illegal."

"Well now you have me intrigued. It's not fair if you don't tell me."

Chris quickly got up and walked to the bedroom. "I think it's completely fair. I have every right not to tell you my previous job. Like I said, it's not important."

"I'm not the one who brought it up in the first place, ya know." Hikaru closed his laptop and followed Chris. "Well if it really wasn't that big of a deal, you wouldn't have a problem telling me."

Chris turned to face his boyfriend. "You don't need to know."

Hikaru sat down on the bed as Chris walked to the bathroom. "Well, true. But I want to."

The light haired man emerged from the bathroom a moment later. His face was turning a bit pink. "Well I don't want to tell you."

The older twin fell onto his back and groaned. "Come one, Chris. What's the big deal? Was it really that bad?"

"I already told you, Hikaru. It's embarrassing."

Hikaru glared over at Chris. "Embarrassing is no longer a thing in this relationship. I think once we hit the year mark, embarrassment disappeared. I mean, come on, I've gotten drunk in public with you. I think I've made you immune to embarrassment."

Chris sat on his side of the bed, his face darkening more and more. "I needed the money, alright. Rent was expensive. I know probably should've quit when I moved in with Nat and Kaoru. They never found out. They just thought I worked overnights at a cheap restaurant or something." He looked over at Hikaru. "Do I really have to tell you?"

Hikaru went straight faced and spoke calmly. "No." He paused. "But I want to know now, so if you don't tell me then I'm just gonna bug you about it forever."

Chris fell onto his back and covered his now scarlet face with his hands. "I worked . . . at a bar."

"A bar? That's it? Really? You're seriously telling me that you were freaking out because you worked at a bar?"

The light haired man groaned and continued to keep his face covered. "No you don't get it. It's just that- Ugh." He spread out his hand on his face so that he could glance at Hikaru through his fingers. "Bar would be a lighter term for it."

Hikaru sighed. "Will you just tell me already? This whole 'lingering on the topic' thing is getting annoying."

Chris groaned again and pulled a pillow from under his head and covered his face with it. He spoke loud enough so that he could still be heard through the pillow. "I actually worked at a club." He pressed the pillow against his face and said something else, but he spoke quietly so the sentence was muffled.

"What?" Hikaru stifled laughter as he thought of things Chris could've been. "Don't tell me you were like a stripper or something."

At this Chris pulled the pillow from his face and glared angrily at his boyfriend.

"Oh my God you were." Hikaru broke out into hysterical laughter and got up off of the bed. "I've gotta tell this to Nat and Kaoru. This is great! My boyfriend used to be a stripper!" He continued to laugh hysterically before pausing and looking over at the red-faced man. "You know that explains so much. Like you usually have no problem walking around the house in almost nothing. See I thought it was just because we've been dating for a while, but nope. And don't even get me started on the sex."

Chris sat up on the bed and continued to glare at Hikaru. "If you tell them, so fucking help me, Hikaru."

Hikaru had just picked up his phone and was about to dial his brother's number but Chris got up and started to try and grab it from him.

The older twin laughed more and pulled it away. "Here. How about this? I won't tell anyone about this under two conditions."

"Two? Really . . ."

"First condition: We move to California. You can get another job at a shitty restaurant there. Or maybe even start up your own restaurant. I don't care. I just want to move."

Chris sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Fine. Deal. What else?"

"Great. Okay. Second condition:" Hikaru kneeled on the bed and got so close to Chris's face that their noses were touching. "I want you to show me how you used to pay rent."

Chris blushed deep red again. He glared at Hikaru again. "You've got to be kidding me . . ."

Hikaru sighed and reached back for his phone. "Or you know . . .I could just spend my time telling my brother about this. And he'll definitely tell Nat. I've realized that news spreads fast with all of our friends so who knows who Nat will tell next. Or maybe Kaoru will tell people. He might end up bringing it up in a conversation with Kyoya. Those two are pretty good friends. And you know how fast news spreads when Kyoya finds out about it."

Chris moved forward and kissed Hikaru on the lips. After a moment he pulled away and smirked. "You know what I've noticed?" Chris lingered in front of Hikaru's lips as he slipped his hand under the twin's shirt and ran his hand over Hikaru's chest, enticing a small moan from the twin. He did this for a moment before stopping. He then stopped smirking and got up off the bed before moving to the door. "You're an asshole."

Hikaru groaned and turned towards Chris as he walked away. "Oh come on!" He got up off of the bed and followed Chris into the living room. "It was just a joke, Chris. You're being a baby."

Chris laughed and moved to get his keys. "Nope. You're an ass. I can't believe it took me until now to realize that I'm dating an asshole." He turned to glare at Hikaru. "I knew there was a reason I didn't want to tell you."

"Come on, Chris. Where are you going?"

"Out I guess." He paused at the door. "Unless you've decided to stop being an asshole."

"I wasn't being an asshole! I thought it was funny. And it's not like I don't want to see you strip ya know."

Chris turned the doorknob and opened the door. "Out it is."

Hikaru sighed. "Alright. Fine. You're right. I was being an ass."

Chris stood there for a moment glaring at the twin angrily. He then threw his keys inside and walked past Hikaru to their bedroom. "I guess I'll take that as an apology."

The light haired man slipped his shoes off and relaxed on the bed. "I'm gonna go to bed now. I have to go to work at that 'shitty restaurant' tomorrow."

Hikaru crawled onto the bed and moved close to Chris. "Awe . . . No fun tonight?"

The twin moved closer and began to kiss at his boyfriend's neck. "Not even a little?" He tugged at Chris's t-shirt and then moved his hand inside of it, tracing Chris's toned chest.

Chris let out a quiet moan before he put his hand up to separate the two and scooted away from Hikaru. "No. I'm still mad at you."

Hikaru sighed and turned to lay on his back. "Alright fine."

The older twin then pulled out his phone and started playing games on it as Chris stayed in his same position staring at the ceiling.

The only thing that could be heard in the room was light breathing between the two and the sound effects from Hikaru's game.

After a moment, Chris glanced over at Hikaru.

" _Dammit."_

He turned back and then glanced over again a moment later.

He still felt the kiss that Hikaru left on his neck.

" _I hate him so much."_

Again . The more he looked at Hikaru, the more he wanted to continue what Hikaru had started.

_"Oh come on. Why do I have to be dating him?"_

Once more. He groaned and turned to face Hikaru.

"Oh fuck it." He said this last phrase out loud.

"Wha-" Hikaru was interrupted when Chris pulled the twin's face towards his and kissed him.

"So . . . Does this mean I win?" Hikaru smirked at Chris in between kisses."

Chris refused to respond. Instead, he just continued to make this kiss more heated as he ran his hands through Hikaru's hair. After a moment, they broke apart. "I hate you so much, you know that, right?"

Hikaru laughed at Chris. "So I guess this means you're gonna show me how you paid rent now?"

Chris didn't say anything to respond. Instead he sat up and climbed off of the bed. "I can't believe I'm doing this. You can't ever just move on when I ask you to, can you?"

"Well, to be fair, it seems like you can't either." The twin relaxed on the pillows and put his arms behind his head. He just smiled at Chris and sighed contently. "Alright. I'm all set to enjoy the show."

Chris laughed and shook his head. "I really am dating an asshole." He then took a breath and glared at Hikaru. "You're so gonna owe me for this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so that's it. Christian di Lazzaro is a former stripper. Woooo! I love Chris so much you have no idea. I have such a friggen strong connection to this OC.
> 
> So I hope you enjoyed this filler chapter! A lot of the chapters leading up to chapter like 36 will be filler so enjoy it! I will get back to Tamaharu in the next chapter I promise!
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW!


	20. Terrible Twos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm officially back! Alrighty readers I finally got past my block enough and got pushed by my sister and best friend enough to FINALLY finish this chapter.
> 
> Do you have any idea how hard it is to write two year olds talking? Especially when one has a lisp? Well it's really friggen hard.
> 
> Okay so this chapter is pretty self explanatory. Everyone has terrible two's - whether they be actually terrible or not.
> 
> This follows Antoine, Akemi, and Zoe in some cute scenes about typical things two year olds do. Or at least what I could remember people saying their kids did and some of what I did.
> 
> NOW I would like to point out the fact that Zoe is pretty much a little baby genius. She speaks very eloquently for a two year old and grasps many concepts that you wouldn't expect her to. Except for the fact that she has a lisp. SO please keep this in mind when you see her asking questions and doing things that two year olds wouldn't typically do. She is Kyoya's daughter after all.
> 
> So without further ado

**_November 20_ ** **_th_ ** **_, 2017_ **

"Daddy can I have a candy?"

"No, Akemi. You already had three. You don't need anymore."

"But I want it."

"Maybe later when mommy gets home."

"Daddy hates me!"

Tamaki sighed as the small blond girl pouted and marched upstairs, her messy ponytail bouncing in time with her step.

"Ant don't do that!"

Tamaki heard his daughter shouting at her twin brother from their room upstairs. He sighed and walked towards the source of the noise. Yelling and stubbornness and such had become the new normal ever since the twins turned two. Frankly, everyone went through their terrible two's, and the next generation of Suoh's were no exception.

Tamaki reached the top of the steps when he heard a loud thud come from the twin's room. The thud was followed by a small scream from Akemi. "Aaannnt! Now we won get candy when mommy comes home."

The blond man rushed over to the twin's room and opened the door. Once the door was open his eyes widened to the sight of a six foot tall dresser now tipped on its side. "Antoine did you do that?"

The brunet boy just frowned and teared up. "I-I dint meanto-"

"But- How did you even do that? You don't even weigh half of that." Tamaki was more confused and amazed than upset at this point.

Antoine sniffled and looked up at his father. "I wanna go up it. A-and when I was going up it, it fell."

Tamaki walked over to Antoine and crouched down. He smiled and wiped the small trace of tears off of the boy's face. "So you tried to climb it, huh? You aren't hurt, right?"

Antoine shook his head. "Are you mad, Daddy?"

Tamaki laughed and stood back up. "No not really. I've gotten used to you climbing everything by now, Ant." He picked the boy up and started to walk out of the room. As he was leaving, he gestured for Akemi to follow him. He stopped at the top of the steps and set Antoine down. "Why don't you and Akemi go play downstairs until Mommy gets home, okay?"

* * *

"Zoe, what are you

doing?"

The small black haired girl ran back and forth in front of her father, gathering more and more books as ran. "I'm cathling!"

Kyoya, not understanding what his two year old daughter meant, got up and followed her to her room where she seemed to be placing all the books.

When he pushed open the already cracked door, his eyes went wide. Now he understood what Zoe meant. She was castling. She was building a castle out of books. The amount of books she had piled up in the shape of a castle's outer wall was astounding. A quick moment after Kyoya had walked in the room, Zoe was seen from the top of her "castle." She apparently made steps to the top as well. All of this and she was only two years old.

"Zoe, did you make this all by yourself?"

The small black haired girl nodded vigorously. She then quickly ran down the stairs of her castle and ran up to her father. She held up a picture of Cinderella's castle to him. "The front part."

Zoe didn't talk much at all, even though she could speak fairly well, especially for a two year old. The only real problem she had with speaking is that she had a slight lisp. Well not slight, but she hid it well by not talking. The only person she ever spoke more than a few words to was Kyoya.

Kyoya just stood there staring at the (not-so) mini castle wall. He could tell Zoe had a bright future ahead of her if she was able to build an accurate representation of the outer wall of Cinderella's castle at the age of two. She even color-coded it so that all of the blue books made up the water in the moat.

After a moment of Kyoya looking back and forth from the picture to the books, Zoe's wide smile turned into a frown. She made a small whining noise as her lip began to quiver. "D-daddy doethn't like it?" She sniffled and shuffled her feet. "I'm- I'm thowwy Daddy. I'll t-take it down now."

Before Kyoya could react, Zoe had run back behind the wall and started crying. "I knew Daddy wathn't gonna like it! Ith dumb. I hate it too! I'm dumb! I hate thith!"

"Zoe, calm down! I don't hate it!" She continued to cry and rant from behind the wall. "Zoe, can you come back out here please?"

She sniffled and poked her head over the wall. "B-but Daddy'th mad at me. . . "

"I'm not mad at you Zoe. Just come back out here."

There was a moment of silence and then Zoe was seen coming back around the wall, avoiding eye contact with her father. "You hate it, don't you Daddy?"

"No! I love it, Zoe! It's amazing!" Kyoya crouched down to the two-year-old's height. He tilted her chin up so that she was looking at him and then brushed a strand of her black hair behind her ear. "I think it's beautiful, Zoe. I'm very impressed that you were able to do this all by yourself."

Zoe's eyes widened but she was still frowning. "Really? I juth- I thought you were mad."

Kyoya laughed and stood up while picking Zoe up at the same time. "No, I was just shocked. I didn't know you could make something as impressive as this." Zoe smiled and giggled while wrapping her arms around her father's neck. "Here, how about this?" He set her down and looked back at the castle of books. "Why don't we take this down and then build a bigger version out in the living room?"

Zoe gasped in excitement. "Can we build it for Mommy!? Tho once she geth home, it'th a thuprise for her!"

Kyoya laughed and nodded. "That's a great idea, Zoe! And once we finish, we can make a sign that says 'Mommy's Castle' so that she will know it's her's."

Zoe squealed and jumped up and down. "Yeah! Leth do it!"

* * *

"Twenty-seven. Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty!" Tamaki sat up on the couch and moved his arm so that it was no longer covering his eyes. "Ready or not, here I come!"

Hide-and-seek had become an almost daily routine with Antoine and Akemi. Their house was big enough to hide in a new place almost every time, but it wasn't so big that you would get lost and get stuck waiting for hours to be found. But even though there were many obscure places to hide, Antoine always seemed to choose between the same two: under Tamaki and Haruhi's bed or in the kitchen cabinets.

Tamaki walked into the kitchen and made his way towards the cabinet that Antoine always hid in. "Hmm. I wonder if Antoine's in here." Tamaki stated his thoughts in a projected voice to see if he could get the usual giggle from his son that gave away his position.

Nothing.

He crouched down and opened the cabinet. Antoine wasn't hiding there this time. One spot down, one to go.

Tamaki made his way up the stairs to get to his bedroom. What he didn't realize, though, was that Akemi's new hiding place was right in front of him, well now behind him.

Akemi always had a new place to hide, and it was always amazing how she was able to find that spot in the first place. Once she managed to climb and hide on one of the shelves in Haruhi's closet. Another time she hid inside the washing machine. She also hid inside the oven once, thank God it wasn't on.

Today, Akemi decided to hide next to the bookshelf that was against the stairs. Pairs of shoes were lined up next to the bookshelf, and Akemi mixed herself between them, hiding her bright blond hair with a small dark jacket. She was so curled up that, at first glance, she looked like just a random crumpled up jacket that someone forgot to hang up.

Once Tamaki was at the top of the steps and making his way towards his bedroom door, Akemi let out a very faint giggle and took the jacket off of her head. She got out of her curled up position and turned to face the steps. Curious as to whether or not Antoine had been spotted yet, but not wanting to relinquish her genius position, Akemi grabbed onto two of the spindles on the railing of the stairs and slowly stuck her head through.

Tamaki opened the door to his bedroom and cleared his throat. "Maybe Antoine's in here?" He used the same overly projected voice as he did downstairs. He paused for a moment, expecting a response, but he heard nothing. Either Antoine finally found a new hiding place, or he had finally learned from his sister how to keep your giggling to a minimum.

Time to turn on the over-dramatics. Tamaki threw his hand over his face in exaggerated grief and cried out. "Oh no! This is terrible! It seems as though I've lost my little boy! Antoine, my baby boy, please come home!"

"I'm nodda baby!"

Bingo.

Tamaki laughed and moved to lay on the ground. He then turned to look under his bed. "I found you, Ant."

Antoine quickly crawled out from under the bed and jumped onto his father. "Daddy! I'm nodda baby!"

Tamaki pulled Antoine into a hug and laughed. "Alright alright. You're not a baby. Now how about we go find Akemi?"

* * *

"Okay now that we took the first castle down, we need to make room out here to build the big one."

"Mommy'th cathle." Zoe corrected.

"Yes. Mommy's castle."

Zoe ran over to the coffee table in the middle of the room. "I get the table!"

Kyoya let out a quiet laugh. "Zoe, I don't think you can move that table by yourself."

The little girl had already started trying to pull the table in her direction, but it wouldn't budge.

Kyoya walked over and picked up the glass vase that was on the table and handed it to her. "Here, why don't you put this in the dining room. I'll move the table."

Zoe took the vase as Kyoya started to move the table, but as soon as she was out of sight, he heard a loud shattering noise.

"Oh, God. . . " Kyoya rushed over to the dining room where he saw Zoe standing behind a pile of broken glass. As soon as she saw him, she started sobbing.

"I-I din mean it-"

Kyoya pinched the bridge of his nose and then picked Zoe up so that she was away from the glass. "It's okay Zoe, calm down." He set her down near the entrance to the dining room. "I'm going to clean this up. Why don't you start bringing the books into the living room?"

She sniffled and nodded before running off.

As soon as he finished cleaning up the glass, he made his way back to the living room. But before he reached the living room, he heard a loud thud, followed by yet another shattering sound.

This time Zoe didn't wait to actually see Kyoya to start crying. She started her hysterics as soon as she heard his voice. "Zoe what happened?"

"I-I fell and- And then the- The book hit the picthure-and-"

Kyoya ran over to her and wiped the tears off of her face. "Shh Zoe. It's alright. Here. How about this: Why don't you go get a snack and then while you eat your snack, I'll clear out the living room?"

Zoe frowned again. "B-But I wanna help you, Daddy."

"You can help me build the castle, Zoe. We're going to build that together, remember?"

Zoe sniffled and gave a hesitant nod. "Okay. I'll get a thnack . . . "

Before Zoe could walk away, Kyoya decided to go with her in case she accidentally broke anything in the kitchen.

"Where are you going, Daddy? I thought you're gonna clean the room up?"

Kyoya smiled at her. "I changed my mind. I think I'll get a snack with you and then I'll clean the room up while you watch, okay?"

"And then we can build Mommy's cathle?"

"And then we can build Mommy's castle."

Zoe looked up at her father with bright eyes. "Can we make it Mommy'th color?"

"What, her favorite color? Red?"

The black haired girl nodded, making her wavy ponytail bounce. "Yep!"

"I mean we can try to use mostly red books on the front."

"Ooo! Ooo! Can we make it my color too!?"

"Green? Then it'd look a lot like a Christmas castle."

Zoe squealed excitedly and jumped up and down as she walked. "Cwithmath! Cwithmath! Yay Cwithmath!"

Kyoya laughed at his daughter's excitement. "I take it you're really excited for Christmas."

She nodded and giggled. Then she paused for a moment and then looked up at her father. "Daddy?"

"Hm?"

"When'th Cwithmath?"

Kyoya thought for a moment about what day it was and then looked down at Zoe. "It's in about a month. So soon."

Zoe's eyes brightened more than ever before. "Really!" She jumped up and down and started chanting "Cwithmath" over and over again.

Kyoya chuckled. "Alright Zoe. Come on let's have a snack before we get to work on this castle."

* * *

"I'll find her." Antoine crawled off of Tamaki and ran out of the room. As Tamaki was getting up, he heard Antoine shout from the steps. "Daddy! Akemi's in trouble!" At the same time he heard Akemi start screaming.

He walked out of the room and started towards the stairs. "What do you mean she's in-" Tamaki stopped mid thought and stared down towards the bottom of the steps. "Oh my God. . ."

Tamaki was in complete awe when he looked to see Akemi with her head stuck in the stairs and Antoine running to her with about five sticks of butter in his hands. Tamaki then ran down the stairs and took the butter from Antoine. "Akemi, how did this happen?! And Antoine we don't need this it's not going to help."

Akemi just kept crying and blubbering "I'm sorry" over and over again. Antoine reached and took a stick of butter back from his father. "Don worry Daddy! I seen it in the movies!"

Before Tamaki could take the butter back from him, Antoine had moved toward his sister and began rubbing the stick of butter on her neck, causing Akemi to scream even louder.

Tamaki moved towards Antoine and tried to pull the stick of butter out of his hand, but Antoine resisted and ran to the other side of Akemi. "Antoine, stop putting butter on your sister! It's not going to help!"

"No Daddy! I gotis. Im savin 'Kemi!" Once Antoine reached the other side of the steps, he continued to butter his sister's neck. Akemi tried to push him away, but her movement was too restricted at the moment.

"Daddy! Help me!" Akemi kept screaming and crying as Antoine continued.

As the chaos continued to ensue, Haruhi arrived home from work. As soon as the three of them noticed Haruhi was home, they all froze and went completely silent.

Haruhi set her keys down and then walked to where she was near the stairs. "Hey, I'm ho-" She stopped in her tracks as she saw Akemi with her tear stained face stuck in the stairs, Antoine with a stick of butter pressed to his sister's neck, and Tamaki with one arm holding four sticks of butter and the other reaching to pull Antoine away from Akemi.

"What the HELL is going on here!"

In unison, Tamaki, Antoine, and Akemi, looked over at Haruhi and shouted, "Mommy! Bad words!"

Haruhi rolled her eyes at the comment and then immediately dropped her bag and keys and ran over to the stairs. "Tamaki go get me the saw."

"What?! The saw! Why!?" Tamaki's eyes widened at Haruhi's command. "Wait . . . Do we even have a saw?"

Haruhi sighed at her husband. "Yes, Tamaki, we do. It's in the hall closet upstairs."

"Why do we have a saw in our hall closet?"

"Because we live in a house with two children." She paused for a moment and glared up at Tamaki. "Well really three if we count you."

"I-I'm a child?!" A wave of child-like hurt washed over Tamaki's voice.

"Just go get the saw."

As Tamaki went to go get the saw, Haruhi managed to pull Antoine away from Akemi. "Antoine sweetie, this doesn't actually work."

"But . . . I seen it in movies."

Haruhi laughed and ruffled her son's hair. "I know I know. It's alright, Ant. Why don't you go put this away and wash your hands?"

Tamaki returned with the saw a moment later and handed it to Haruhi. "Are you sure you want to use this?"

"Do you see any other options to get our daughter out of the stairs?"

Tamaki went silent. Point taken.

"Mommy . . . a-are you gonna saw. . ." Akemi took a long pause and started crying again. "Are you gonna s-saw my h-head off?!"

"What?! No! Of course not! Just- Just stay still okay?"

Haruhi moved and sawed off the top of one of the spindles just enough so that it could bend enough for Akemi's head to move. "Okay Akemi you can get your head out now."

Akemi freed her head and ran over to hug Haruhi. "Thank you, Mommy!"

Haruhi laughed and kissed the top of Akemi's head. "You're welcome, Akemi. Now you go upstairs and get ready to take a bath. I'll be up there in a minute okay?"

The blond girl nodded and ran upstairs.

"Tamaki, why don't you start making dinner? And watch Antoine. Make sure he actually got the butter off of his arms."

Tamaki nodded and walked down the stairs. He then pulled Haruhi into a hug and kissed her. "Welcome home, darling." He paused for a moment, resting his chin on her head. "What age do they start going to preschool here?"

Haruhi laughed and pecked Tamaki on the cheek. "Oh, we've got a little while to go before they go to school."

And with that she was headed up the stairs to give Akemi a bath.

* * *

"We gotta put different color bookth in the middle to make the door!"

The two had spent about three hours setting up the castle, and now all they had left was the center, where the door would be, and the banner that would label it "Mommy's Castle."

"Okay, let's bring all the brown books over here. And then we can make the banner for Mommy."

"Can I make it!?"

Kyoya laughed and nodded. "Sure, Zoe. But let's finish this first."

Zoe nodded and pushed a pile of red books over to the castle.

"Zoe, we need the brown books. Not the red ones."

The little girl frowned and turned around to the color coded piles of books. She stood there for a moment looking confused. "Wait . . . What are the brown oneth?"

Kyoya pointed to the pile next to the green books and laughed. "The ones next to your favorite."

"Oh! Okay!" She ran over and pushed the pile of brown books over to the front of the castle. "Here ya go Daddy!"

After about fifteen minutes of using the brown books to fill up the missing center of the castle and topping it off with a few red books to give it more of a door effect, sat down at the other side of the room to admire their work.

"Looks like we're all done, Zoe."

"D'you think Mommy will like it?"

"I think she'll love it. You made it after all."

"No," Zoe corrected, " _WE_ made it."

Kyoya laughed and kissed the top of Zoe's head after pulling her into a hug. "Yes. We made it."

Zoe giggled but then jumped up and gasped. "Wait! The thingy! To show Mommy that it'th HER cathle!"

"Do you wanna make that now? By yourself? Or do you want me to help?"

"I wanna do it mythelf!"

"Alright. I'll get the paper. Wait here."

Kyoya went to his office and got a long banner-length piece of paper from the section set off for Zoe's arts and crafts. Zoe was very fond of drawing and decorating things. Well fonder of making a mess, but it was art nonetheless. Kyoya got two long pieces of paper just for good measure. He figured Zoe would want to make one banner say "Mommy's" and the other say "Castle." He then grabbed the box of crayons, colored pencils, markers, finger paint, glitter, and other decorative items and brought that out as well.

"Okay Zoe. What do you want to use? I brought out pretty much everything."

Zoe jumped up and ran over to the box and rummaged through it for a minute or two before pulling out the finger paint and the markers. Once she set those down she pulled out the glitter and puff balls as well. And here comes the mess making.

"I'll go get the- the . . . The . . ." Zoe stood there for a moment trying to think of the word. After a minute, she couldn't figure out the word still so she ran over to the coffee table that was pushed to the edge of the room and started to pull something out of the drawer: A painting tarp.

While struggling to pull the tarp out, Zoe explained herself. "I don wanna thpill the paint thtuff."

After a moment of struggling, Zoe finally got the tarp out and fell to the ground. She then got back up and set it up on the floor before placing the two pieces of paper on the tarp.

"Thith one will thay 'Mommy'th'" she pointed to the first one and then motioned to the second one, "and thith one will thay 'Cathle." Just as Kyoya expected.

Kyoya sat down next to the box and handed Zoe supplies as she worked. She decided to sketch her "cute but very-sloppy" design with pencil before painting. As she worked, Kyoya watched her and admired her concentration. Then Zoe began to spark up a conversation to break the silence.

"Daddy?"

"Hm?"

"How d'you and Mommy meet?"

Kyoya leaned back and though about her question. "Well that was a little less than three and a half years ago. And I think it was a few days before Bastille Day."

Zoe turned to her father, her bright blue eyes looking at him with curiosity. "What'th that?"

"It's a really important holiday in France. And we met in France because I was traveling a lot after I ended my first marriage-"

"Wait you were married to thomeone elthe before Mommy?"

"Yeah but it didn't last long."

"Wait . . . Do you have any other babieth?"

Kyoya let out a loud laugh. "No Zoe. Don't worry I've only got you."

"Oh. Okay good."

"But yeah I was traveling and that's where Mommy's from."

"Yep. Just like Tama-than, right?"

Kyoya nodded. "Mommy and Tamaki were actually best friends when they were little."

"Really?! That'th tho cool!"

Kyoya laughed and continued his story. "Anyways. It was a few days before Bastille Day and I was just sightseeing and walking around the town and Mommy was in a hurry for something and she bumped into me. When she did that, she knocked my glassed off and broke them.-"

"Mommy! That'th mean!"

He chuckled at his daughter's comment and continued. "She didn't mean to, Zoe. It was an accident. And anyways she apologized for it and then took me out to lunch. And then we've been together ever since then. And then you were born. But Mommy and I spent most of her pregnancy apart. So I didn't know you were gonna be born until a month before you were."

Zoe stopped painting for a moment and then turned back to Kyoya and looked at him with a completely serious expression.

"Daddy? Where do babieth come from?"

Kyoya's eyes went wide and he stared at his daughter for a moment. Why did she have to be more curious and intelligent than most two year olds?

"Uhm. Why don't you ask Mommy in a few years?"

"But I wanna know now."

"You're too little to know now, Zoe."

She pouted and turned back to finish the banner. "Okay."

After a few minutes of silence, Zoe clapped her paint-covered hands together and giggled. "All done!"

Kyoya sat up and looked at the banner Zoe had made. She had already taped the two papers together. It was covered in glitter in the most random places, some purposeful, others accidental. The words were in large red painted letters. They were readable, but the "O" in "Mommy's" looked a bit like a pretzel and the "S"'s in "Mommy's" and "Castle" looked like lightning bolts. Also, "Castle" was spelled "Cassul." There was a little lime green puff ball on each of the four corners and Zoe drew a little picture with markers in the bottom of the middle of the page. The picture consisted of three stick figures: Kyoya, Sam, and Zoe. Kyoya was drawn with purple marker, Sam was drawn with pink marker, and Zoe was drawn with light blue marker. It was truly a "Zoe Masterpiece."

"This is beautiful, Zoe! I'm sure Mommy will love it."

Zoe giggled and hugged her father, getting paint on him in the process. She then paused for a moment and looked up at Kyoya.

"When does Mommy get home?"

Kyoya looked at his now red watch and checked the time. "In a few minutes, why?"

Zoe squealed and jumped up. "We gotta hang it now! Before Mommy cometh home!"

Kyoya laughed and stood up. He picked up the banner and the tape and held it up to the top of the castle, above the door. "Is right here okay?"

"Perfect! Here wait!" She ran behind the castle and climbed up the steps made similar to the smaller one she made in her room. She then reached over the top of the castle and helped hold it up so Kyoya could tape it.

"Okay, thank you Zoe." He taped the banner on the books carefully so that it wouldn't fall off. A moment later, the banner was secured on top of the "door" of the castle. "Alright, we're all done!"

"Yay! Now we gotta wait for Mommy to come home!"

Kyoya looked at the mess behind him and sighed. "Well I think we should clean up before she gets home."

"But I wanna wait up here . . ."

He chuckled and smiled at her. "Alright. You can wait for her up there. I'll clean this up. Just wait here okay. And try not to get paint on anything but yourself."

Zoe nodded and Kyoya went to clean everything up. After a moment, he had everything in the box and was taking it back to his office. Once he set the stuff down, he took the tarp out of the box and put it in a separate compartment so that it didn't ruin all of the supplies.

After about five minutes, the front door opened.

"Kyoya. Zoe. I'm home." Sam called out from the front door and then walked into the living room. As soon as she saw the castle of books, her jaw dropped. "What is all this?"

Zoe poked her head out from the top of the castle wall and giggled. "Thuprithe, Mommy!"

"Did you do this all by yourself, Zoe?"

She shook her head. "Daddy helped."

"This is amazing . . ."

Zoe's blue eyes widened as did her smile. "You like it!?"

"I love it, sweetie! It's beautiful!"

Zoe giggled and was about to climb out of the castle when Sam stopped her. "Wait Zoe. Stay right there for a minute. I want to take a picture of this."

Samantha pulled out her phone and backed up against the wall to get a full shot of the magnificent castle. A few moments later, she put her phone back in her pocket. "Okay, honey you can come down now."

Zoe then bolted out from behind the castle to give her mother a hug, but instead of making it cleanly around the castle wall, she bumped into it and fell on her butt. Not only did she bump into the castle and make herself fall over, but she bumped into the weakest part of the castle. The books then started leaning away from her and within the next thirty seconds, it completely collapsed.

Zoe stood up and ran to Sam as quickly as possible to get away from the falling books. Once the castle was just another pile of books, Zoe looked up at Samantha, tears filling her eyes, and started blubbering. Instead of shouting out her normal inaudible apologies like she did with Kyoya, she just sobbed and wailed loudly, clinging to her mother.

Kyoya was then seen running into the living room. "Zoe, what happened?!" He then saw his daughter clung to his wife's thigh and the enormous pile of books spilled out in front of them. "Oh . . ."

Kyoya walked over to Sam and Zoe. "How did all this happen?"

Zoe detached herself from her mother and ran to jump into Kyoya's arms. "I-I'm thowwy , Daddy! I didn't mean to! I-I ruined our cathle. I ruined Mommy'th cathle!"

Kyoya held his daughter close and tried to stop her crying. "Shhh. Shhh. It's okay Zoe. Mommy got to see it right?" Sam nodded. "See, Mommy saw it. Mommy saw the castle and she loved it. So there's nothing to worry about. You don't need to cry, Zoe."

After a minute of crying into Kyoya's shoulder, Zoe sniffled and pulled her face away from his shirt. She turned to look at Sam. "Did Mommy really love it?"

Sam laughed and walked over to Zoe. Zoe then reached out to be held by her mother. "Of course I loved it, Zoe. It was absolutely beautiful. Just. Like. You." In between the last three words, Samantha poked Zoe's tiny nose, causing the toddler to giggle. "How about we let Daddy clean this up, while I give you a bath to get this paint off of you?"

Zoe nodded and pulled away so that Samantha set her down.

Kyoya looked down at his daughter. "Are you okay now, Zoe?"

Zoe nodded again and grabbed a hold of Sam's hand. She then started pulling her down the hallway to the bathroom.

"Hold on a second, Zoe. Here. You go to the bathroom and I'll be there in a minute."

Zoe nodded once more and went to the bathroom sniffling but silent.

"That was the quietest she's been all day."

"Kyoya. You know she doesn't like to talk around anyone except for you. You do realize that she likes you more than me, right?"

Kyoya walked closer to his wife and kissed her on the lips quickly. "I don't know why."

Samantha laughed and kissed him back. "Oh shut up. You're an amazing father and that little girl adores you more than anything else. She's a complete daddy's girl. Let's just hope she stays this cute and innocent when she becomes a teenager."

"Well she already asked me where babies come from . . ."

"Oh God. She's too smart for her own good." Sam leaned in and kissed Kyoya again before walking down the hall. "I'll go give her a bath now. Have fun cleaning this up!"

Kyoya turned back to the books and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he sighed and began cleaning everything up. He smiled as he thought, " _At least her terrible two's don't involve being a bad kid. At least she knows that she can be a handful."_

* * *

Haruhi was walking down the stairs with Akemi in her arms, all cleaned up with no sign of butter on her. Once they reached the bottom of the steps, Haruhi noticed Antoine sitting on the couch, pouting. "Antoine. I thought you were going to help with dinner. What happened?"

Antoine continued pouting and turned away from Haruhi.

Haruhi set Akemi down. "Why don't you go see what Daddy's making for dinner. I'll talk to your brother."

Akemi nodded and ran into the kitchen.

Haruhi moved over and sat next to her son. "Ant, what's wrong?"

Antoine pulled his knees close to his chest and sniffled. "Daddy hates me."

"What?! No he doesn't! Where did you get that idea from?"

"He getted m-mad at me for tryna help make dinner!" Antoine was crying by this point.

Haruhi pulled Antoine into a hug to calm him down. "Well what did you do that made him mad?"

"I was tryna make budder thingies."

"Budder thingies?" Haruhi paused for a moment trying to figure out what he meant. She sighed when she realized what he was talking about. "Ant, honey, where did you put the butter?"

"On the hot part of the cooker. And then the fire stuffs happened so it was working, but Daddy freaked out."

Haruhi laughed and pulled him closer. "Oh, Ant. You can't put that on the stove."

"I dint put it on the stove! I put it on the hot part of the cooker!"

"Ant . . .That's the stove."

"Oh."

"It's okay though. I'm sure Daddy wasn't really mad at you. He just got scared that you would get hurt."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"But what if he really is mad at me?"

"I'm not."

Tamaki was standing in the doorway of the kitchen with Akemi leaning on him.

"Tamaki, how long have you been there."

"No long. I only got to hear the part at the end. I just came out to say that dinner's ready."

Antoine avoided looking at his father and started pouting again.

"Ant . . ."

"You're mad at me, aren't you, Daddy?"

Tamaki walked over to Antoine and sat on the other side of him, so that Antoine was now in between his parents. "I was never mad at you, Ant. It just scared me. I didn't want you to get hurt near the fire."

"I-I just thought you were mad . . ."

Tamaki pulled Antoine into a hug and kissed the top of his head. "I wasn't. And I'm not mad now. I do think, though, that you need to stop watching movies that have butter in them . . ."

Haruhi laughed and then Akemi ran to stand in front of the three. She put her hands on her hips and sighed. "Can we eat now? I'm hungry! And Ant! You need to stop bein a big baby!"

Tamaki and Haruhi laughed, but Antoine sat up and glared at his sister. "I am not a baby, Kemi! You're a baby!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"Ant's the biggest baby!" Akemi shouted at her brother and giggled before running down the hall.

Antoine sprung up and chased after his sister, shouting at her in return.

Tamaki then laughed and scooted closer to Haruhi, putting his arm around her and kissing her. "So did he really think I hated him?"

"So you were there for longer than the end!"

Tamaki laughed. "Guilty as charged."

"Yeah. He really thought you were seriously mad at him . . ."

"You do believe that I wasn't, right?"

"Of course I do, Tamaki. It takes a hell of a lot more than that to actually make you mad. And plus, I know for a fact that you adore the kids."

Tamaki kissed Haruhi again. "And you." They paused for a moment as they watched Antoine and Akemi run past them to the other side of the house.

"Haruhi?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you say to having another baby?"

Haruhi looked up at Tamaki, confused and a bit angered. "You're joking right? After all that happened today and after all that we've been through with the twins, you want to have another one?"

"Well yeah. I mean, I think it'd be nice to have another baby-"

"No."

"But-"

"I said no. No way. Not gonna happen. You try giving birth to twins and then ask me again."

"Alright. Sorry I asked. . . "

After a moment they both decided to get the kids for dinner. As they were walking to the dining room, Tamaki brought the topic up again. "I mean can you at least consider it?"

Haruhi froze in her place and sighed. She then glanced back at Tamaki for a quick second. "Fine. I'll think about it."

The two of them continued walking but Haruhi stopped in her tracks again and then turned back to face her husband completely. "But if these 'terrible two's' continue past their third birthday, then another kid is absolutely out of the question."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's it for now folks! It took SOOOOO long to write this chapter bc frankly im not that great with kids. I honestly just wanna skip to when they're all teenagers.
> 
> Like I have a lot planned for Antoine, Akemi, Zoe, Yukimi and others that have not been concieved/born/mentioned in story yet.
> 
> So stay tuned!
> 
> I'll try to have the next chapter up this weekend but no promises! It'll be a bit of a harder one to write.
> 
> So stick around until next time
> 
> Chapter 20 - Surprise!
> 
> PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!


	21. Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright readers! I know this is a little later than I planned (Wednesday) but I've had an INSANE week so bear with me.
> 
> So this chapter is one that I pretty much cried while writing because of the cuteness. But I'm gonna be totally honest, that happens a lot in this series now. I have about 4 or 5 other chapters written (they wont be posted too soon sorry) that I've cried rivers of tears over because of the cuteness and/or angst in them.
> 
> This one is ALL ABOUT KYOYA, SAM, AND ZOE AND IT'S SUPER CUTE SO YAY!
> 
> I will get back to the twins and Tamaharu at some point. I think I have one more chapter of NOT them. The next chapter will be Hikaris because I miss my babies. It'll probably end up being a shorter one too so yep. I'll try to have that one out by Wednesday at the latest.
> 
> So without further ado, please enjoy this Moreau-Ootori family chapter

**May 3, 2018**

"Mommy," Zoe held up a more advanced picture book to her mother and pointed to the title. "Wath thith word?"

Samantha had her daughter on her lap in the living room and was braiding her wavy black hair. "That's astronomy, sweetie."

"What about thith one?" She pointed to the sub-title of the book.

"Well that word," Sam pointed to the first of the two words in the sub-title, "is solar. And the other one is system."

Zoe placed the book back in her own lap and frowned. "I don't like them."

"What, the words?"

"They're mean. They have that letter in them. Ith no fair."

"Awe, Zoe. Don't worry you'll grow out of it. When you get a little older you'll be able to say that letter like everyone else." Zoe continued to pout and flip through the pages of the book. When she got to the different planets, she saw that they were glittering on the page as a way to catch the reader's attention.

Zoe gasped when she saw the glittering planets and held the book up to her mother again. "Mommy look it! Look at all the pretty thparkleth!" She held the book where both of them could see it and pointed to each individual planet. "That oneth you! Aannd. Thath me. Oh! And that oneth Daddy!"

She paused for a moment to study the page. She then moved her small finger over to Earth and looked back at her mother, causing the almost finished braid to mess up. "Thith ith where we live, right Mommy?"

Samantha nodded. "Yep. That's Earth. The planet we live on."

"Earth." Zoe giggled. "Thath a funny name for a planet."

Sam pulled Zoe back onto her lap and held her tight. She kissed the side of her head, causing the child to giggle more. "You know what else is a funny name?" Sam leaned in close. "Zoe."

Zoe gasped and laughed as Sam began to tickle her. "Hey Mommy! Thath mean! Thath my name!"

Sam stopped tickling Zoe and laughed. "Well I hope I would know my own daughter's name. I did name you after all."

Zoe cocked her head, confused. "Daddy didn't name me too?"

"Well he agreed with the name Zoe. But I picked it out. I liked the meaning of it."

Zoe crawled back onto her mother's lap and leaned against her chest. "What doeth my name mean, Mommy?"

"Life."

The little girl looked up at her mother, another confused look spread across her face.

Sam let out a small laugh and picked up the solar system book. She pointed to earth and tried to explain. "Remember Earth? The planet we live on?" Zoe nodded. "Well that's the only planet that has life on it. Well we think. So people and animals and plants. That's all life."

"And Alienth?"

Samantha laughed again. "We don't know if aliens are real, Zoe. But maybe."

Zoe frowned and furrowed her brow in thought. After a moment she looked back up at her mother. "Tho. . . Life ith people and thingth like puppieth and flowerth?" Sam nodded. "Tho that meanth babieth are life too?" Sam nodded once more. Zoe looked down at her mother's stomach and poked it. "Tho you have life in your tummy right now?"

"Wait what?"

Zoe cocked her head again. "There ith a baby in your tummy, right? Becauth you keep thmiling and laughing and thinging a lot and you only do that thtuff on thpecial dayth. But ith not a thpecial day . . ."

She paused for a moment before continuing. "And you thaid that babieth come from a mommy and daddy kithing a lot. . . And you and Daddy kith a lot. Tho it hath to be a baby, right?"

Samantha went silent for a moment, trying to take in how advanced her daughter's reasoning was, especially for a three year old. "Wait . . . So you figured it out that easily? You're only three, how could you figure out that I'm pregnant?"

Zoe giggled and huddled close to her mother. "Becauth I love you Mommy. And you need to know loth of thtuff about peopleth you love. Ethpethally Mommy and Daddy."

Sam laughed and kissed the top of Zoe's head. "I love you too, Zoe. You're such a little genius."

After a moment, Zoe pulled apart from Sam and looked back down at her stomach. "Whath hith name gonna be?" She took a quick pause. "Ith it a boy? Can you make the baby a boy? Pleath Mommy? I wanna baby brother!"

Samantha let out a loud laugh and stood up while simultaneously picking Zoe up. "Well I really can't choose that, Zoe. You'll have to just wait and see. It'll be a surprise." She walked out of the living room with Zoe in her arms and then she set the girl down in her hallway. "So do you want to help me with dinner, or do you want to go play with Daddy instead?"

Sam already knew the answer and without hesitation Zoe shouted the expected response. "Play with Daddy!" And before she knew it, Zoe was running down the hall to Kyoya's office.

* * *

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Zoe?"

Zoe was laying on the ground drawing a picture with crayon, while Kyoya worked on his laptop. "Do you have a favorite color?"

"Not particularly, no. Why?"

"I'm gonna make your favorite color purple. Ith that okay?"

"Sure."

The two of them went back to concentrating on their work. About five minutes later, Zoe spoke up again.

"Daddy?"

"Hm?"

"What thould the babyth favorite color be? Blue, yellow, or pink?"

"Wait what? Who's favorite color is this?"

Zoe sat up and looked over at Kyoya as he turned around to face her. "The baby."

"What baby?" After he questioned Zoe once more, Kyoya took a sip of water that he had on his desk, which in reality was a bad decision because of what Zoe was about to say.

"The baby in Mommy'th tummy. My baby brother. Or thithter. But I wanna have a brother tho I hope ith a boy."

Kyoya almost did a spit take, but instead he slightly choked on the water and ended up having a short coughing fit. "Zoe, what are you even talking about?"

Zoe held up the picture she was drawing and it showed three stick figures: Kyoya in purple, Samantha in red, and Zoe in green. And then there was a much smaller stick figure in blue where stick-figure Samantha's stomach would have been. It was simply labeled, "Baby."

"Thee I drew a picture of all of uth!"

Kyoya studied the picture for a moment and then looked back down at Zoe. "Zoe . . . This is wonderful, but I'm pretty sure Mommy isn't having another baby."

Zoe frowned and cocked her head. "Thath not what Mommy thaid. We were talkin 'bout it before the went to cook dinner."

Kyoya's eyes went wide and he stood from his chair. He picked Zoe up and handed her the picture. "Can you hold this for me? Let's say hi to Mommy and see how dinner's coming along."

Zoe nodded and held onto the picture with one hand and Kyoya's neck with the other.

* * *

Just before they reached the kitchen, Kyoya set Zoe down. "Don't show Mommy the picture yet. Make it a surprise."

Zoe nodded and followed her father into the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, Kyoya leaned against the wall while Zoe went and climbed onto a tall chair.

"Hey Sam."

Samantha looked up from her cooking and smiled at her husband and then back at her daughter. "Oh hi! What brings you two in here?"

"Daddy wanted to thay hi." Zoe swung her feet back and forth on the tall chair and held her picture in her lap.

"Well I haven't really seen either of you much all day since you've been out shopping and whatnot. So I thought it'd be nice to stay with you out here while you cooked dinner."

Sam looked back to Kyoya and smiled. "Oh. Well that's very nice."

"So what are you making tonight?"

Sam smiled and went back to her cooking. Kyoya had offered to hire a home chef when they first got married, but Samantha refused. She absolutely loved to cook. "My dad's favorite thing to cook: Bouillabaisse. He taught me how to cook it when I was sixteen."

"That dish sounds very familiar."

She glanced over at Kyoya quickly and laughed, causing her ginger ponytail to bounce behind her. "Well of course it does. It's a famous dish in Marseilles. I'm almost positive that it's the meal you had when I bought you lunch after breaking your glasses."

Kyoya let out a small laugh. "I remember now. It's Marseilles most popular dish. The one that includes a lot of different types of shellfish."

Zoe sat straight up and let out a small gasp. "Mommyth making fitheth for dinner!?"

Samantha laughed. " That's right, Zoe. Mommy's making fish."

Zoe absolutely loved everything her mother cooked for them. But she especially loved whenever her mother made fish. It quickly became her favorite food.

Zoe let out a small squeal of joy and began swinging her feet again and then started humming quietly.

"You are able to eat that, right? Wait, yes you are. It's stuff like sushi that you can't eat."

"What are you talking about, Kyoya?"

Ignoring Samantha's question, Kyoya posed a different question. "How are you feeling, Sam?"

Sam cocked her head and furrowed her brow, like mother like daughter. " Uhm . . . I'm actually feeling wonderful. Never been better. Why do you ask?"

"Are you sure you're feeling alright? Nothing feels different?"

"Kyoya, what on earth are you going on about?"

Ignoring Samantha's question once more, Kyoya called Zoe over. "Zoe. Why don't you show Mommy that beautiful picture you drew?"

Zoe giggled and quickly climbed down from the chair. She stood behind Samantha and held up the picture. Samantha put a lid on the pot and turned around. She crouched down to Zoe's level and held the picture. "This is beautiful Zoe."

Zoe ran around to Sam's side and pointed out things in the picture. "That one'th me and thath Daddy. And then thath you." She pointed to a very small stick figure that Sam hadn't noticed at first. "And then thath the baby!"

Sam's eyes went wide when she finally realized what Kyoya was going on about. "Oh. Oh!" She paused and leaned in to kiss Zoe on the cheek. "It's wonderful, sweetie. I'll hang it up with the other's on the fridge. Why don't you go wash up for dinner, it should be ready in a minute."

Zoe smiled wide and nodded before running out of the kitchen to the powder room in the hall.

Sam stood up and hung the picture on the refrigerator as previously stated.

"So a baby."

Samantha turned back to face her husband. "Kyoya, I can explain-"

"Well there's nothing _to_ explain. You're pregnant again. What else is there to tell?"

She sighed and leaned against the counter. "I was going to tell you within the next few days. I just didn't know how."

"All you had to do was say it, Sam."

"But I didn't know how you'd react. You didn't want kids in the first place. So who knows how you would've reacted to me telling you we're having another one?"

Kyoya pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Well I never explicitly said that I didn't want children. I was just never exactly fond of the idea of babies waking me up in the middle of the night or small children running about my home." He took a quick pause. "But that doesn't matter because we have Zoe, and I honestly adore her, and soon we'll have another child. And if this child is anything like Zoe-"

"Then we will have another total genius that reads astronomy books at the age of three and breaks everything they touch . . . "

Kyoya laughed and walked over to Sam. "Well I really hope they don't break everything like Zoe. The genius part is fine with me. The point is, you didn't have to hesitate to tell me."

Sam leaned against Kyoya's shoulder and sighed. "Zoe is too smart for her own good . . . She figured out that I'm pregnant without me saying anything. Normal three year olds aren't supposed to be able to do that."

"Well, like you said, she's a little genius. You know she wants the baby to be a boy."

Sam nodded. "Yeah she really wants a baby brother. And just wait, it probably is a boy. Zoe's probably psychic or something." She let out a quiet laugh. "She'll probably be able to tell the sex of any other kids we have too."

Kyoya cleared his throat and straightened up a bit. "I think two kids is substantial enough for us."

Samantha pouted playfully. "Awe. You don't want Zoe to have as many siblings as Sofia does?"

"Absolutely not."

She laughed and moved in front of Kyoya to kiss him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and smiled at him before they shared a lengthy kiss. "I think two is the perfect amount for us."

"Mommy! Daddy!" Zoe stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "You don't need to do that anymore! Mommyth already got a baby in her tummy!"

The two of them laughed at their daughter's comment and separated. Sam crouched down to Zoe's level again and held out her arms, cuing Zoe to come running. She picked Zoe up and kissed her cheek, causing the three year old to giggle. "Do you wanna have dinner now?" Zoe nodded. "Then how about you and Daddy go set the table?"

Zoe turned and reached out for Kyoya to carry her and he complied. The two of them then grabbed some shallow bowls and went to set the table.

* * *

**December 18th 2018**

"Thith one goeth here. Aaaand now ith your turn, Daddy." Zoe placed a piece in the large puzzle that her and Kyoya were completing. Zoe leaned back in her father's lap and ate from a small bowl of gummy bears.

Kyoya reached around Zoe and put another piece in the puzzle. It was about three-fourths finished by this point. "Alright. Your turn."

Instead of putting another piece in the puzzle, Zoe turned her head and looked up at Kyoya. "Daddy?"

"Yes Zoe?"

"Can babieth get mail?"

Kyoya stifled a laugh. "No. They can't. Only people can get mail."

"But babieth are people too."

"Well they can't really read, write, or talk. And if you're referring to your little brother, then there's no way he can get mail. He can't really do much from inside Mommy's tummy."

Zoe frowned and stared at her bowl of gummy bears. "But I wanna write him a letter."

Kyoya thought for a moment before continuing. "You can still write the letter. And he can read it when he's your age. He just can't read it right now."

Zoe jumped up and ran to get some paper, causing her pigtails to bounce against her head as she ran. After a quick moment she returned with copy paper and colored pencils. Crayons weren't formal enough for an important letter like this one. She pushed the unfinished puzzle to the side on the coffee table to make room for her writing.

"Whath the babieth name?"

"We don't know yet."

Zoe frowned again and turned back to Kyoya. "But he hath to have a name! I can't call him 'baby' all the time."

"Well Mommy and I like the name Kazuto, but we aren't sure if that'll be his name."

Zoe turned back to her paper and wrote, as legibly as possible, "Dear Kazuto." It was spelled "Deer Kasootoh" but it was easy to tell what she meant.

"Daddy you can't look. Only Kathuto ith allowed to read thith."

"Alright. I won't look I promise." Kyoya leaned against the couch and let Zoe continue writing.

About five minutes later, after multiple scribbles and groans of anguish, Zoe finished her letter to her brother. "All done!"

She folded the letter neatly in half and handed it to Kyoya. "You and Mommy need to keep it for Kathuto."

Kyoya took the letter and then moved back to the coffee table. "Okay I promise we'll only read it to the baby when he's ready. Okay?"

Zoe nodded sharply, causing her pigtails to bounce again.

Kyoya looked at his watch and stretched. "You know it's almost time for bed, Zoe."

Zoe pouted and quickly wrapped her arms around Kyoya's waist. "No! Can I pleathe thtay up tonight, Daddy? Pleathe?"

Kyoya laughed and hugged his daughter. "I'll let you stay up a little bit so that we can finish this puzzle. Deal?"

"Deal."

* * *

"So she wrote a letter to the baby . . . And she won't let us read it unless we're reading it to him after he's born?"

Kyoya nodded and moved to get in bed. "She made me promise not to read it. She said it was for Kazuto to read only."

"Wait so we're actually sticking with that name."

"Zoe seems to think so. And we both like it so might as well."

Samantha stared at the letter for a moment before speaking up. "So we really can't read it yet?"

"Unless you want to upset Zoe."

Just then there was a small knock on their bedroom door. "Mommy? Daddy?"

Sam let out a small laugh. "Come on in sweetie."

Zoe hurried into the room and crawled onto her parents' bed. She was holding a small stuffed penguin and was wearing a silky green nightgown with pink ruffles on the bottom. "I couln't thleep."

She crawled over and huddled up in Kyoya's lap. She looked over at her mother and saw the letter she wrote in her hands. "Ith that my letter to Kathuto?"

Samantha nodded and looked down at the paper in her hands. "It is." She turned back to Zoe. "Are you sure we can't read it, Zoe?"

Zoe sat for a moment in thought. "Well ith he here? Can he hear uth?"

"Well I like to think so." Sam looked down at her swollen stomach. "I mean he's gonna be born soon, so I think he can at least kind of hear us. I'm not sure he knows what it all means but . . ."

Zoe crawled out of Kyoya's lap and moved in front of her mother. She held out her hands to see the letter. Once Sam handed the letter to Zoe, Zoe moved closer to her mother and opened the letter. "Ith he awake?"

Samantha laughed and nodded. He had been kicking on and off for about an hour now. She took Zoe's little hand and held it to her stomach. "See? You can feel him kicking."

Zoe cocked her head and frowned at her mother's stomach. "Thath not very nithe." Then she felt her brother actually kick. Her eyes widened and she let out a faint gasp. "Woah. He ith awake!"

She removed her hand and looked back at the letter. "Okay. I'm gonna read it now." She sat up straight and spoke as clearly as possible.

_"Dear Kathuto,_

_I'm your big thithter, Thoe. I'm really really exthited that you're my brother. I jutht wanted to tell you that ith really fun with Mommy and Daddy. Mommy ith really nithe and funny. Theth pretty and a pretty thinger. And the cookth really good too! Daddy ith really thmart and fun to play with. He'll help uth build cathleth and do puthleth. And even though he workth a lot, he thtill playth with me and Mommy whenever he can. We're gonna have loth of fun together! Welcome to the family, Kathuto!_

_Love, Thoe."_

Once she finished reading the letter she looked up at her parents and smiled. "D'you think he heard all of that?"

Samantha let out a small laugh and nodded. She had one hand over her stomach and the other was tucking a strand of her ginger hair behind her ear. She was a bit teary eyed as she spoke. "Zoe, I'm positive that he heard you. That was the sweetest thing I've ever heard."

"Well I wath jutht telling him about you and Daddy."

Kyoya spoke up, smiling. "Zoe come over here."

She crawled back into her father's lap and he pulled her into a hug. "That was incredibly sweet of you, Zoe. You're gonna be a great big sister."

Zoe looked up at Kyoya, wide eyed. "You think tho?"

"I know so." Kyoya kissed the top of Zoe's head and hugged her again. After a moment, he realized that she probably wasn't going back to her room. "Let me guess. You want to sleep in here tonight?"

Zoe nodded slowly. "Ith that okay?"

"Of course it is. Now let's go to sleep and maybe we can go out to breakfast tomorrow."

Zoe nodded vigorously and crawled under the covers between her parents. In a matter of minutes, all three of them were fast asleep.

_Kazuto Moreau-Ootori. Born January 3_ _rd_ _2019 with dark brown hair, pale blue eyes that would soon fade to blackish-purple, pale skin, and a faint trace of freckles on his face, just like his mother._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! So that's it for this week folks! Thanks for stickin with this story even if you hate it! And if you love it: That's fuckin awesome man thanks!
> 
> So yeah. The second and final addition to Kyoya's family is Kazuto. I can't wait to write more on Zoe and Kazuto's relationship yay! Oh and if you have any trouble figuring out what Zoe is saying because of her lisp, just let me know. You can send me the part you didn't understand in a review or PM and I'll just "translate" it for you if ya need it.
> 
> So yeah join us next time for another installment of "First or Last?"
> 
> Next time: Chapter 21 - Wedding Bell Blues
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW!


	22. Wedding Bell Blues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty readers! I did not expect to get this chapter written this fast. Two days! Only two! Go Jess for being awesome. Not really. I'm actually lame as fuck.
> 
> But ANYWAYS this chapter was really fun to write. Mainly because A) it's Hikaris B) this Hikaris chapter DOESNT ACTUALLY LEAD TO SEX YAY DEVELOPMENT POINTS FOR JESS and C) This actually has some emotions that I have been wanting to tap into for the both of them. I really really liked tapping into Hikaru's whole "abandonment issues" thing at the end and Chris is just so done with his shit and it's great because I put 99.9999% of my personality in Chris.
> 
> So without further ado, here it is!

_-March 22, 2019_

**_10:30pm – I'm here. Hurry up._ **

Hikaru sat in his car in the parking lot of the restaurant Chris worked at. About a week ago, Chris's "shitty-ass car" as Hikaru liked to call it, completely broke down. And now, because Chris refused to let Hikaru buy him a new car (really out of convenience), Hikaru had to take Chris to and from work five days a week.

**_10:40pm – You said you get out at 10:30. Come on._ **

It had been a little over a year since the two had moved to California. They moved into one of those "Million dollar homes with a view" even though Chris tried to convince Hikaru not to. Chris was convinced that the home was "completely ridiculous" and "a bit much for only two people." But, nonetheless, they now lived in a home fit for any A-list celebrity.

**_10:50pm – Chris. Come on. It's almost 11. What the hell's taking so long?_ **

_10:52pm – I'm on my way. Chill out._

Three minutes later the passenger side door opened and a very aggravated Chris sat down in the car, closing the door behind him.

Chris sighed and leaned back against the seat.

"What's your problem?"

Chris sighed again and buckled his seatbelt. "Nothing. I'm fine. It's just been a long day."

Hikaru stared at him for a moment. "Alright."

After a few minutes of driving in silence, Chris spoke up. "How long have we been together?"

"I dunno. Two years? Maybe three. I don't think it's been three yet. Somewhere around there." He paused for a moment as he pulled into their driveway. "Why?"

Chris shrugged and got out of the car. Hikaru sighed and got out of the car too. Once the two were inside the house, Hikaru decided to question Christian again.

"Chris, are you sure you're alright? Usually you have at least one rant about some asshole customer . . . But today you're almost completely silent. Did something happen today or . . ."

Christian ran his hands through his hair and sighed again as he took off his shoes and jacket. "It was just a long day. Really stressful. I don't know why, but there were like five proposals today. Like it isn't even an important holiday. Why do so many people want to get married now?"

"So you're this upset because a lot of people got proposed to today?"

"Yes."

Hikaru walked into the kitchen and spoke up as he walked. "I think that's kind of dumb, if you ask me." He came back a moment later with a bottle of beer in each hand. "Because it kinda seems like you're just getting pissed at other people's happiness."

Chris glared at the bottle that Hikaru was extending towards him. "Really?"

"What?! You have this whole 'alcohol' thing under control with me so what's the harm?"

Chris took the beer and walked down the hall to the living room and sat down on the couch. Getting back to the subject at hand, Chris took a swig from the bottle and continued. "Well yeah I am. I think it's pretty damn annoying how they get to flaunt their 'we're so happy and we're gonna spend the rest of our lives together' couple-ness in public."

"So you're jealous." Hikaru was sitting beside his boyfriend at this point.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. But why? Is this not a happy relationship for you?"

Chris groaned and lied down so that his head was on Hikaru's lap. "No! That's not- Of course this is a happy relationship for me."

"Then why are you jealous?"

"I already told you I'm not."

"Alright. If you say so." Hikaru ran his hand through his hair and finished off the bottle that was in his other hand. They sat in silence for a moment before Chris sat back up, got off the couch, and started walking towards their bedroom.

Knowing that their conversation would resume if he followed, Hikaru got up off the couch and walked to their room as well.

"It's just that," Chris started as he changed into his pajamas: red flannel pajama pants and no shirt. "Why would you propose to their significant other in front of all of those people? What if there's someone in those dozens of people that really wants to get married and the whole topic of marriage is a very sore subject with them at the moment? Are you really gonna be that big of an asshole and flaunt your wonderful moment in front of that person?"

Hikaru was lying on the bed and playing on his phone as Chris ranted. "Uh huh. Yeah. You're absolutely right."

Chris, noticing that Hikaru wasn't actually paying attention, glared at his boyfriend. He paused for a moment before continuing. "And then I found out that Tamaki and Haruhi are getting a divorce WHILE I was sucking Kaoru off."

"Uh huh. Yeah- Wait WHAT?!" Hikaru sat up and stared at Christian, his eyes wide. "What the FUCK are you talking about!?"

"I feel like you only pay attention to what anyone says when it involves Haruhi or Kaoru. . ."

"That didn't answer my question."

Chris laughed and plopped down on the bed. "You honestly believe that any of that happened? First of all, we all know there is no way in hell Tamaki and Haruhi are ever getting a divorce. Second of all, your brother is with my best friend. They're very happy together and they're having a child. There's no way either of us would cheat. And I'm pretty sure you're the gay twin, not Kaoru."

Hikaru sighed a breath of relief. "Oh okay. But why did you say that then?"

"To get your attention, dumbass. I knew you weren't actually listening to my rant."

"I was! Kind of . . . I got the general idea."

"Uh huh. Yeah. You're absolutely right."

"Shut the fuck up."

Chris sat back up and looked over at Hikaru. He was silent for a moment, but soon sighed and spoke up. "So almost three years now?"

"For wha- Oh yeah. I think so. We've been together ever since Tamaki and Haruhi got married so however long that is."

Chris sighed and fell on his back once more. "Don't say that word."

Hikaru turned to Chris, confused. "What word?"

" _Marriage."_ The tone in Christian's voice was coated with anger and disgust. "I don't like thinking about that word right now. It just makes me want to punch someone in the face. Usually you."

"What?! Why me!? What the hell did I do?"

Chris turned his head to Hikaru. "I dunno. Take a wild guess. I'm pissed because everyone around me, whether I know them or not, is getting married. I get angry every time I so much as hear the word marriage. And now you know that whenever I hear said word, it makes me want to punch either me or you in the face. What could be the cause of this anger?"

"Well I won't know until you tell me, Chris." Chris got up and walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth before going to sleep. "Three years, nine months, and four days. Maybe five days. Depending on what you counted as 'dating.'"

Hikaru decided to get up and change into his pajamas as well. "What are you talking about now."

"The same thing that I keep bringing up, Hikaru. Another reason to make me want to punch you in the face. We've been dating for almost four years now. Not three." A moment later, he came back out of the bathroom. "All of these things are just piling up on a list of why I actually should punch you in the face."

"Alright. I get it. I messed up. I'm not good with dates."

"So I've noticed."

"But why are you so pissed off about it."

Christian rubbed is hands over his face and groaned. "I want to get married."

Hikaru's face went pale. "W-what? Isn't it a little early to be thinking about that?"

"We've been together for almost four years. Nat and Kaoru got married just after five years. Kyoya and Sam eloped right after Zoe was born. Takashi and Sofia got married after two years. And Honi and Reiko didn't even wait an entire year to tie the knot. And don't you dare mention how long Tamaki and Haruhi waited because I'm not waiting almost ten years to get married. We'd be pretty old for the whole marriage thing then and I want our kids to have married parents."

"I don't think we'd be too old if we waited."

"Hikaru, you're almost thirty years old. I'm turning twenty-nine this November. If we waited ten years then we'd both be close to forty and I that whole thought is extremely unappealing."

"And why are you bringing kids into this? I never agreed to have kids."

"Alright. I give up. I'm going to bed." Chris walked over to his side of the bed and pulled the covers up to his face.

"Oh come on. I'm at least willing to talk about this!"

"What's the point of talking if you're just going to tell me all the reasons why you don't want to get married and have kids, Hikaru?"

"Because I actually have reasons."

Chris pulled the covers away from him and sat up. "Please enlighten me."

"Well with the whole kids thing, I've never been a kid person. Kids are weird and babies are really needy. Plus they will have to be adopted by at least one of us so that will cause a shitstorm when they find out."

"Sorry not a good enough reason."

"Alright I guess I'll move to marriage then. We already live with each other and we both know we're gonna spend the rest of our lives together so what's the point of marriage?"

"Sentimental value. Legalities and paperwork. Sharing and/or taking last names. Not having to call you my boyfriend anymore. I could go on and on."

Hikaru sighed and fell back on his pillow. "I just don't see any real need to get married."

"So you have abandonment issues AND commitment issues?"

"Wow way to be an asshole, Chris. I don't have commitment issues."

"At least you admit to your abandonment issues."

Hikaru cleared his throat and continued. "The point is, we already do all of the things married people do, well minus the whole children thing but that's a conversation for another day, so there is no real point to getting married."

"So you don't want to get married?"

"Well not right now at least."

"Why not?"

"It'd be a hassle."

Chris sighed and turned his back to Hikaru. "This is one of the times I wish I was straight. That way I could fall in love with a beautiful woman, GET MARRIED AND HAVE KIDS."

Hikaru sighed and went under the covers as well. "You don't need to get all butthurt about it. It's not like I don't wanna be with you."

There was silence for a long minute.

Christian turned to face Hikaru. "Do you love me?"

"Yes."

"Then why won't you marry me?"

Hikaru groaned and turned his back to his boyfriend. "Really Chris?"

Chris paused for a moment. "Wait. . . Does this count as me proposing to you? Because if it does then I take it back. This isn't how I wanted it to happen."

"Yes it counts."

"Fuck. Alright. Well I'm going to tally up the times I ask from now on."

"Go right ahead." Hikaru paused and glanced over at Chris. "You know. . . You're pretty hot when you're mad at me."

"That means I'm hot every day."

"Alright I'm going to bed."

Another moment of silence.

"You know I'm going to end up getting a ring to propose to you with."

"Don't."

"Why not?"

"Save up for that damn car you won't let me buy."

Chris stared at the ceiling. "Oh that? I already have the money for that. I just like it when you take me to and from work. It gets you off your lazy ass for a few minutes each day."

"I hope you realize that you're really making me want to punch YOU in the face now."

Chris turned his back to Hikaru again. "Woo. Yay. Good for you."

Hikaru stared at Chris's back and sighed. "Dammit. How do you have such a great body?"

"Because I'm not a lazy ass like you."

"Hey! I'm just as fit as you are!"

"Scrawny and fit are two very different things."

Hikaru groaned and continued to stare at Chris's back. After a moment, he decided to close the gap between the two and start kissing Chris's neck, but Chris quickly stopped him.

"No."

"Awe come on. Why not?"

"Married couples partake in sexual activity. We're only dating, remember?"

Hikaru went straight faced and sighed. "Chris you do know that we've had sex before. And we do quite often."

Chris didn't respond.

"Come on. Can we at least talk about it?"

"Sorry. Only married couples have meaningful talks about problems in their relationship. When you're just dating, the easiest thing to do is break up."

Hikaru rolled onto his back and groaned. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"No absolutely not! Kids only come after marriage, remember?"

Hikaru turned so that his back was to Chris. "Goodnight."

"Okay."

After a moment of silence, Hikaru turned around again and sighed. "Fine. I'll think about it okay?"

Chris still didn't turn around when he spoke. "Last time you said 'I'll think about it' was like two years ago or something. I'm not waiting that long again."

"Well I mean . . . What do you want me to do."

"Marry me."

"No."

"Fine."

"Not yet. . . I'm not ready yet."

"If we aren't married within the next two years I'm done."

"That's not fair, Chris."

"That's completely fair, Hikaru."

Hikaru sat up and looked over at Chris. "How the hell is that fair?"

Chris finally sat up and looked over at Hikaru. "Because how the hell am I supposed to be expected to stick around if you have no intentions at all of making it permanent? I just proposed to you and you said no. I will continue to propose for the rest of this year. After that it's up to you. If we aren't married by the time I'm thirty I'm gone."

"Chris, that isn't fair in the slightest! You're acting like some bitchy high school girlfriend! I do intend on making this permanent, just not right now!"

"Then when?"

"I don't know."

"Well you better figure it out soon."

Chris went back under the covers, his back facing Hikaru. Hikaru sighed and did the same.

"I do intend on marrying you someday Chris. I'm just not ready yet."

"Okay."

"You know that I actually do love you, right?"

"I guess so."

"Well I do."

Silence.

"You love me too, right? You aren't gonna leave me . . ."

"I love you too. But I'm not sure about that second part. I have two years left to decide that."

Hikaru opened his mouth to speak but shut it immediately. When he figured out what he wanted to say, he spoke up. "So I have until you're thirtieth birthday?"

"Yeah."

"Deal."

"If you end up proposing, Hikaru, instead of me, it better be amazing. I don't want some half-assed shit from you."

"I will make it amazing. I promise. . . Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! That's it! I love these two together you have no idea. Mainly because Hikaru is actually my fave character in Ouran and Chris is me (well a lot like me personality and hair color wise. I'm not an adult Italian gay man sorry to say). But yes I really hope you enjoyed that chapter because it was very fun to write. And very difficult to keep up with. I miscalculated the time so many times when writing this chapter. I was honestly on the same boat as Hikaru. I thought it was only almost three years not 4! It's insane how time flies!
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading!
> 
> Next time: Chapter 22 - Not Again
> 
> (hint hint - the next chapter is another *everyone* chapter)
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW!


	23. Not Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty I'm back! I know it's been a while again but I have been working on this chapter as much as possible! I swear it! This chapter is definitely my longest because I FINALLY BROKE 10K WITH THIS ONE! Like I'm waaay more than 10k words for the total story but this is the first chapter that has had more than 10k words in it alone. I put A LOT into this chapter because I wanted my long awaited return to be worth it.
> 
> I would like to apologise though for being away for this long again. I have been extremely busy with school and theater competition and a wedding so yeah. I haven't had a saturday off for the past 5 weeks. This is actually my first saturday off in a long time. So I will be working on more writing to post. And TOMORROW I will be posting another chapter that I've had written for a fair amount of time already.
> 
> The next chapter is the Takashi and Sofia one I mentioned before, so BREAK OUT THE TISSUES BECAUSE IT'S REALLY EMOTIONAL KAY YEAH.
> 
> But until then enjoy some more drunkenness and toddler antics!

_~16 August 2019~_

"Are you sure you aren't mad?"

"I was never mad to begin with, Sam."

"I mean we can always cancel this trip. This is your private jet after all. I don't think cancellation fees will be a problem."

"Sam . . . We're already on the way. And everyone is going to start arriving tonight. I don't think cancelling this trip is an option."

Samantha leaned back in her seat and sighed. "Yeah I guess you're right."

There was silence for a few moments save the small gasps and squeals as Zoe stared at the clouds outside of the plane.

After a moment of Zoe's gasps and squeals, Samantha sat back up and looked over at Kyoya. "But what about Kazuto? Is it a good idea to take him on this trip when he's not even a year old yet?"

"You seemed to think so when you planned this trip. And Zoe was fine when we took her to Sofia's a few years ago."

"I'm just worried about him."

Zoe interrupted her parents' conversation while she continued to stare at the clouds. She spoke quickly and excitedly and her lisp was much less prominent than it used to be. "Daddy? Why can't I touch the clouds?"

"Because it's too dangerous when we're going this fast and when we're up this high. And clouds are just made of air and water so there isn't really anything to touch."

Zoe looked back at her father and cocked her head like a confused puppy. "But it doesn't feel like we're going fatht(fast)." She turned back to the window and pressed her hands against the glass. "And they look tho fluffy."

Kyoya looked over at Zoe, and, realizing she was back in her clouded daydream, continued his conversation with his wife.

"I don't think you need to worry about Kazuto." Kyoya looked over at his son and then back to Samantha. Kazuto was sleeping in a car seat across from his parents. "He seems to be doing just fine."

"But-"

"Sam, calm down. Everything will be fine. If there were any doubts about this trip then you wouldn't have planned it and I wouldn't have agreed to it. And we aren't even leaving the country. We're just going to Okinawa."

"Yeah. You're right. Everything will be fine." Sam sat back down and relaxed once more, only to shoot back up no more than five minutes later. "Oh God. Sofia's pregnant again, isn't she? Will she be okay for this trip?"

"She was pregnant last time too, Sam. Stop worrying."

Sam sighed and relaxed once more, this time for good.

* * *

"We're all gonna get eated by sharks and die!"

Haruhi sighed and held onto her son's hand as they walked to the front door of Kyoya's family beach home in Okinawa. "It's eatEN, Antoine, not eatED. And you're being ridiculous. No one is going to get eaten by a shark and die."

Antoine looked up at his mother as a look of worry seemed to be permanently glued to his face. "But I saw it in the movies! It's gotta be true!"

"Ant! Leave Mommy alone! You're just being dumb!"

Antoine tugged on Haruhi's hand and pouted. "Mommy! Akemi's bein mean to me!"

Haruhi picked Antoine up and grabbed Akemi's hand with her free one. "You two both need to cut it out now. We're on vacation. We are guests here so you need to learn how to get along. If you don't learn how to get along, I'm going to take away your toys and make you share a room for a week."

At that, both twins looked over their mother's shoulder and shouted towards their father in unison. "Daddy! Mommy's being mean to us!"

Tamaki, as he carried their luggage behind them, shrugged and spoke up. "I'm on Mommy's side for this one. You two are twins. You need to learn how to get along, at least in public."

At that statement, Akemi peeled her hand from Haruhi's and ran towards the beach while screaming. "Mommy and Daddy hate me! Mommy and Daddy are evil! Everyone is so mean to me and hates me!"

Tamaki quickly set their luggage down and ran after his daughter. "I got her!" He quickly reached Akemi and picked her up. Tamaki carried the blonde girl back to where Haruhi and Antoine were still standing and sighed. "Yep. You two are definitely sharing a room now."

Antoine whined and buried his face in Haruhi's shoulder. "That's not fair! Akemi's the one that ruined everything!"

"She may have made the situation worse," Haruhi explained, "but you don't seem to be making it any better by complaining about spending time with her."

Antoine whined again and kept his face pressed against the base of Haruhi's neck while he held on tightly to her hair.

Akemi was crying quietly as she buried her face in Tamaki's shirt. "It's not fair. You all hate me. It's not fair."

* * *

"So you all got here not too long after Kyoya got here?"

Sofia smiled and nodded. "Takashi and I planned to travel with Mitsukuni and Reiko since we all live near each other. And we all still live in Japan so we kind of underestimated how quickly we would get here."

Sofia sat on one couch with Takashi as Adrian chewed on a teething ring while sitting in Takashi's lap. On the other side of her on the couch were Mitsukuni and Reiko, both of whom were nodding along to the statements Sofia was making. Sofia herself looked much thinner than she usually did, which was especially surprising due to the fact that she was once again six months pregnant. Sofia was a naturally fit woman but she was never stick thin as she was now. Aside from her frail appearance, she also seemed a bit reserved and taciturn, which also was not like her. Apparently her current pregnancy had been less than friendly to her over the past few months.

Haruhi nodded in understanding as Sofia spoke. "And how was your flight? Was it difficult to travel in your condition?"

Sofia laughed at Haruhi's question. "Oh no. Of course it wasn't difficult. I'm not deathly ill, Haruhi. This pregnancy has just been a little rough, that's all."

Haruhi glanced over at Takashi, whose expression seemed to darken ever-so-slightly at the mention of Sofia's pregnancy. She could tell he was seriously worried about Sofia.

Just then, Tamaki poked his head into the living room where Haruhi was socializing with the Morinozukas and Honinozukas. "Sam and I finished making lunch if anyone's hungry."

Tamaki spoke in a fairly quiet tone, but the kids still heard him. Well Yukimi and Akemi heard him. The two girls jumped from the open play area where Akemi, Antoine, Zoe, Yukimi, and Kazuto were settled and playing and rushed towards Tamaki. The seven-month-old Kazuto paid the two girls no mind. He just sat next to his sister and Antoine while he played with, and occasionally chewed on the face of, a toy stuffed Dalmatian.

Zoe and Antoine stayed in the same place, completely oblivious to what was going on around them. They seemed to be completing a very complex puzzle together and were in extreme concentration mode. Neither of them said much to each other. Zoe seemed to be keeping silent because, even though it was not as prominent as it was before, she was embarrassed of her lisp, and Antoine stayed quiet because he was shy and seemed to be respecting the fact that Zoe didn't want to talk much.

Once Akemi and Yukimi reached Tamaki, Akemi grabbed onto her father's hand and beamed up at him. "Daddy! Daddy! Can we have the foods now?"

Yukimi nodded along with her newfound friend and giggled. "Yeah foods now!"

Sofia looked over at her daughter and narrowed her eyes in ever-so-slight annoyance. "Yukimi!"

The three year old glanced back at her mother. "Mommy?"

"Calmate! Usa tus modales!" Sofia scolded her daughter in Spanish as she usually did. Sofia and Takashi's children, however many they were going to have all together other than their current two-almost three, were all to grow up with Spanish and English as their first languages and Japanese in a very close second.

Yukimi pouted at her mother's command and turned back to Tamaki. "Can we eat the foods now, please?"

Tamaki looked over at Sofia, confused. He was wondering what exactly Sofia said to her daughter to cause a shift in mood that quickly. Sofia simply sighed and shook her head. Takashi looked over at his wife and then over at Tamaki and spoke up. "Calm down and use your manners."

Tamaki nodded and mouthed "Oh" and then looked back at the small girls at his feet. "Yeah, go right ahead. Sam and Kyoya are setting things up in the dining room." The two girls giggled and rushed past Tamaki.

Tamaki then looked over at Antoine and Zoe, who were still completing a puzzle with little to no conversation. "Hey Antoine? Zoe?"

The two looked back at him simultaneously.

"Yes, Daddy?" Antoine was the only one to speak up.

"Why don't you two come have some lunch? Zoe, your mom and dad are setting things up right now."

She nodded but then looked back at Kazuto. "But what about Ka-" she paused for a moment trying her best to make sure she didn't lisp. She furrowed her brows and frowned in concentration. "My baby brother. What about him?"

Haruhi stood up from the couch and went to pick Kazuto up. "I got him. You two go get some lunch." Kazuto reached out for Haruhi when she approached him because even though she wasn't much of a familiar face, she was a friendly one.

Haruhi picked the freckled boy up and turned back to everyone else in the living room. "Aren't you guys coming too?"

Mitsukuni and Reiko nodded and followed Antoine and Zoe into the dining room. Tamaki followed close behind. Haruhi began to follow too with Kazuto in her arms when she noticed that only Takashi was following behind her with Adrian in his arms. "Sofia aren't you coming to eat too? You've never passed up a home-cooked meal for as long as I've known you."

Sofia laughed and smiled over at Haruhi. "That is very true. But don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'm just not all that hungry right now. I had a big breakfast before our flight. I'll have something a little later."

Takashi turned back to Sofia as she spoke to Haruhi. Even though his expression was hard to read, as always, both women could tell he was still very worried about his wife. "Sofia, are you sure you don't want anything to eat?"

Sofia gave her husband a sad smile and stood up. She walked over to him, stood on her toes, and kissed his cheek. "I'm sure. Now go before Adrian starts throwing a fit because of his hunger. He needs to eat and so do you. You didn't have time to eat much this morning because you were getting the kids ready, remember?"

Haruhi spoke up again. "So are you just going to stay out here? You can at least come and sit with us while we eat."

"No that's alright. I think I'm gonna stay out here." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Actually, I think I'll get some fresh air and sit out on the front porch. That way I can let Hikaru and Kaoru and their respective lovers in once they get here."

* * *

"And then he grabbed all of the butter he could find and started smothering Akemi's neck with it. He kept claiming that it would work because he 'seen it in the movies.'' Tamaki spoke as Haruhi leaned against him on one of the couches.

The rest of the couples, excluding the two Hitachiin groups because they had still yet to arrive, were sitting on couches and chairs in the living room drinking coffee, tea, or any other drink of their choosing, other than alcohol of course. Sofia had come back inside once everyone finished eating lunch, which was about three hours ago. Now she was sitting on the same couch she was sitting on before in drinking coffee with soda crackers to make up for her lack of food in her system.

Sofia finished chewing a soda cracker before speaking up. "Wait . . . What the hell kind of movies do you let him watch?"

Haruhi was the one to speak up this time. "I have no idea where he gets that phrase from. He barely watches any movies and when he does it's only Disney princess movies because of Akemi. Last time I checked, they don't use butter to get a head unstuck from the stairs in Frozen. That's all Akemi watches."

"At least it's not Brave." Takashi spoke up from next to Sofia. Sofia laughed and nodded in agreement.

Sam gasped. "What are you talking about? Brave is way better than Frozen!"

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah at least Brave isn't a musical. And an extremely overplayed one at that."

In unison, Takashi and Sofia spoke up. "That doesn't stop Yukimi from turning it into one."

Sofia sipped her coffee before continuing. "Every single background song becomes a main part of the movie when we watch it. If either of us so much as says a word during one of the songs she will have a fit. Even if Adrian makes a noise."

Takashi looked over at his wife. "Not even for just the songs. It applies throughout the entire movie."

The rest of the group laughed and then Mitsukuni, who was sitting in between Sofia and Reiko, turned to Kyoya and Samantha. "What about Zoe? What's her Disney obsession?"

Sam thought for a moment before answering. "Well she doesn't really seem to obsess over anything. And she doesn't watch many movies so-"

"Tangled." Kyoya spoke quickly, interrupting his wife. "She's obsessed with Tangled."

Samantha looked over at him. "What? Since when? What about Mulan? I thought she liked that one too."

"Well she likes that one too but she is absolutely obsessed with Tangled. I'm the one that stays home with her all day, remember? Every time she wants to watch a movie, she picks Tangled. And haven't you noticed all of the Tangled merchandise she has in her room?"

Mitsukuni spoke up again. "Aw but Tangled is a great movie."

"Tamaki cried the first time he saw it." Haruhi commented after sitting up to have some tea.

"Haruhi! You said you wouldn't tell anyone about that!"

"It's not like it's a surprise to any of us, Tamaki." Kyoya looked over at his best friend.

Sofia sighed and spoke up again. "Why can't our children be obsessed with the classics like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty?"

"And Snow White!" Tamaki joined in.

Sofia glared over at him. "No. Never Snow White. Snow White is the worst."

Reiko spoke quietly and twiddled her thumbs. "I like the Nightmare Before Christmas."

The entire group spoke up with that comment. Around the group, random comments could be heard such as "yes!" and "Now that is a brilliant movie!" and "Amazing choice."

As the uproar of approval of the Nightmare Before Christmas continued, Zoe quietly made her way into the room and crawled onto Kyoya's lap. She looked upset as she buried her head in her father's chest.

"Zoe what's wrong?"

Zoe looked around at the group of adults that were slowly beginning to notice the four-year-old's presence and then quickly hid in her father's shirt once more. Kyoya sighed and picked Zoe up before carrying her to the edge of the room where eyes weren't all on her.

"Zoe what's wrong?"

The black haired girl sniffled and rubbed her eyes as they brimmed with tears. "Ant and Kemi are fighting. And Kimi is tryin to thtop it but they won't listen."

Kyoya looked back at the group and noticed that they had all gone back to their conversation, except for Haruhi. Haruhi kept looking over at the two of them to try and figure out what was going on. Once Kyoya noticed Haruhi was watching, he signaled for her to come over to them, causing Zoe to gasp and hide behind Kyoya's leg.

Haruhi got up and went over to talk to Kyoya. "What's going on?"

"Antoine and Akemi are fighting apparently."

Before Haruhi could even think to speak, Antoine decided to become loud enough to where he was heard throughout the entire house.

"AKEMI STOP IT!"

Almost immediately after Antoine shouted, a loud thud and crash, like the sound of glass shattering, was heard from the room where all of the children were playing. The crash was followed by Akemi screaming, which was followed by Yukimi screaming, which was followed by Adrian crying, which was also followed by Kazuto crying, which was finally followed by Antoine running out of the room and into the living room screaming and crying.

"MOMMY!" Antoine ran into the living room and latched onto Haruhi's legs while he continued to sob.

Haruhi picked her son up and he buried his face in her shoulder. "Antoine, what just happened?"

Instead of forming coherent sentences to explain what had just happened, Antoine continued to sob and blabber on. The only word that could be made out from his blubbering snot-filled nonsense was "Akemi."

At this time, almost all of the adults had made their way to Haruhi, Antoine, Kyoya, and Zoe. Tamaki was in full on panic mode so instead of finding out what was going on, he rushed directly to the other room before anyone else could get there. Samantha followed Tamaki in his pursuit with the same haste. Mitsukuni and Reiko followed close behind because they figured they could be of some help. Haruhi and Kyoya followed behind Mitsukuni and Reiko. Antoine was still holding tight onto Haruhi's shirt but Zoe decided to stay behind instead of staying latched onto her father. Shortly after Haruhi and Kyoya made their way to the room, Takashi and Sofia decided they should probably join the rest, mainly due to the fact that their two children were in the room at the time. They didn't worry too much about what was going on because, even though Adrian was only a year old and Yukimi was only three, the two of them together seemed to be able to wreak more havoc than any other children.

The screaming and crying from all of the children had seemed to die down shortly after everyone, save Zoe, had left the living room. Still, they all remained in the other room for quite some time. So, Zoe decided, after she composed herself once more, to sit on the couch and wait patiently for everyone to return.

About five minutes after Zoe sat down on the couch, the front doorbell rang. The four year old girl jumped, startled by the sound, and looked around for someone to answer the door. Since no one was showing up to answer it, she quickly hopped off of the couch and went to the front door. Zoe reached up and slowly struggled to open the front door. She poked her head out from behind the door and looked up at the figures standing in front of it: Natalia, Kaoru, and their one year old daughter, Isabella, who was asleep in her father's arms.

Zoe then gasped and shrunk behind the door again. She said in a quiet but audible voice, "One minute! Lemme get Daddy!" before running off down the hall to find Kyoya.

A few moments later, Kyoya was seen walking up to the door with Zoe holding onto one of his hands. Zoe let go of her father's hand when they reached the front door and pushed it all the way open. When Kyoya saw his friends standing in the doorway, he pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose and gave a faint smile.

"You know you could've let yourself in. It's not like this place is new to you."

At that comment, Kaoru smiled and laughed, causing Bella to wake up, but not cry.

Kyoya noticed the infant in Kaoru's arms and spoke up once more. "It's good to see you two finally got what you've been asking for."

"It's great to see you too, Kyoya."

* * *

"She's absolutely gorgeous. And she looks just like you, Nat." Sofia was sitting on the ground playing with the three youngest children: Adrian, Isabella, and Kazuto. She then looked up at Kaoru, who was sitting across from her and playing with his daughter's hair. "But she definitely has your eyes, Kaoru."

Natalia smiled. "Why thank you, Sofia. Adrian is quite the handsome little boy, if I do say so myself. And Yukimi is growing up to be just as gorgeous as you, too."

Tamaki, who was also playing with his own daughter's hair but on the couch instead of the floor, spoke up. "So now that you two have Bella, the only ones left to have kids are Hikaru and Chris, right?"

Across the room, on another couch, Mitsukuni's hand shot up like a kindergartener in class. "Nope! I'm not a dad still."

Haruhi looked up from the coloring book that she was drawing in with Antoine and Zoe. "Yeah, why is that? I mean, you two have been married the longest out of all of us."

Takashi spoke without hesitation. "Mitsukuni isn't mature enough to raise a child yet."

"Takashi! I am absolutely mature enough to raise a child!"

Haruhi shrugged. "I dunno. You still seem to be pretty obsessed with cute things."

"Being obsessed with cute things has nothing to do with maturity! I am very mature. I am thirty-two years old! I'm the oldest one here!"

Yukimi, who was playing on a toy piano and singing Disney songs, snorted and looked over at her "uncle" before breaking out into a fit of giggles.

Sofia looked over at her daughter, confused. "What's so funny, Kimi?"

Yukimi got up from the toy piano and ran over to sit in her father's lap on the couch. "Mitsu-san isn't old! Mommy and Daddy are old, but not Mistu-san and Reiko-san."

Takashi laughed as Yukimi sat in his lap and played with his hands. "Yukimi, Mitsu-san is older than Mommy and me."

"That's silly. No he's not."

Sofia spoke up. "Well how old do you think he is?"

Yukimi thought for a moment. "Uhmmmm. Seven!"

The rest of the adults laughed as Sofia spoke again. "And how old do you think me and Daddy are?"

Yukimi paused again to think. "Uhhhmmm. Oh! A Hunred!"

The rest of the adults laughed once more before Mitsukuni interjected. "The point is- I am completely capable of raising a child. And so is Reiko."

Natalia looked over at them. "Well then why aren't you?"

Mitsukuni shrugged and Reiko started twiddling her thumbs again. "We've never really made it a discussion. I feel like we're perfectly fine with or without kids so really it's up to Reiko."

Reiko began to blush profusely and twiddle her thumbs even faster. She didn't say anything for a moment. After a good thirty seconds of silence and staring at her, Reiko finally spoke up, but very quietly. "Not yet."

Mitsukuni smiled and put his arm around his wife. "And I'm completely happy with that. "

Samantha spoke up as she finished pulling her own hair into a braid. "Well I think both of you will be great parents when you're ready."

Tamaki decided to join the conversation again. Akemi was now sitting in his lap with her hair in a braid as she played with his phone. "So at least we know where you two stand with the whole children situation. But what about Hikaru and Chris? Do they ever plan on having kids? Or even getting married?"

Natalia sighed. "Well Chris wants to. He wants to get married and have kids-"

"-But Hikaru doesn't." Kaoru spoke as he continued to play with the three youngest just as Sofia was. "At least not right now."

Kyoya finally joined in the conversation. "Well does either of them know that? Does Chris know that Hikaru doesn't want marriage or children yet? And does Hikaru know what Chris does?"

Haruhi sat up and let Antoine and Zoe finish the picture. "Yeah because if they don't know that for either of them then they aren't gonna go anywhere in that relationship."

Kaoru and Natalia decided to respond by, once again, finishing each other's sentences.

"Oh trust me-"

"-They both know."

"It causes a constant argument between them."

"And Chris has already proposed three times."

"Which means Hikaru said no three times."

Sofia looked over at them with a look of astonishment on her face. "Are you serious?! That's awful!"

Kaoru was the one to speak up this time. "Apparently they made a kind of deal after the first time Chris proposed."

Natalia nodded along. "Yeah. According to a very stressed out Hikaru at the time, Chris said that if they aren't at least engaged by the time he, Chris of course, turns thirty, then they're breaking up."

The group of adults gasped and let out small comments of astonishment and whatnot.

Haruhi spoke up again to voice her opinion. "I think that's a little ridiculous."

A few murmurs of agreement were heard throughout the group.

Kaoru sighed. "See that's what I said at first. But then I actually talked to Chris about it and he actually had valid reasoning behind this." He paused for a moment before continuing. "It makes sense for him to feel that way because, as he put it, why is he expected to hang around in that relationship if Hikaru has no intentions of making anything permanent."

Nat interjected again. "And he did make it a point to mention that they have been together for over four years now."

"So is that why they still aren't here yet?" Mitsukuni decided to join in as well.

Nat and Kaoru spoke in unison. "Probably."

"I mean the tension between them was fairly obvious when they first met Bella."

"We flew over to California a few months ago so that just the four of us could spend some time together and so they could finally meet Bella . . . And Chris found it necessary to mention that he actually has no relation to her whatsoever."

"Yeah because even though Chris and I grew up like brother and sister, we aren't actually related. So the only way he would be related to Bella is if he were married to Hikaru."

At that moment, Kaoru's phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it. "Speak of the Devil and he shall appear."

Natalia looked up at her husband. "Hikaru or Chris?"

"Hikaru." He slid his thumb across the phone screen and held it up to his ear.

"Hello?" Kaoru went silent but Hikaru could be heard complaining from the other line. "Yeah you two are the last ones to get here. Nat and I got here a few hours ago . . . Hikaru you know you can't blame Chris for that."

Chris could be heard yelling at Hikaru from the other line as well now. "Well maybe if you stopped blaming him for everything he wouldn't be so pissed off at you . . . Hikaru if you really needed to fly first class that badly, maybe you should've booked the flight. Just because Nat grew up with that kind of money doesn't mean Chris did too."

Kaoru stopped talking once again, but this time he sighed and went to lie on his back on the floor. He rubbed his hand over his face as his twin continued to complain. "Alright . . . Okay . . . I'll see you in a few minutes. Please try not to kill each other. Okay . . . Bye."

Kaoru remained on his back once he hung up the phone. He sat there for a moment before Bella decided to crawl onto her father's chest. Kaoru laughed and then looked over at the rest of the group. "So I'd say we have about five more minutes of sanity now."

* * *

"So . . . Since there are quite a few small children here . . . And they have the ability to understand what's going on now . . . How are we going to have any fun?"

Christian, Sofia, Haruhi, Natalia, and Kaoru all glared at Hikaru and spoke in unison. "Not by drinking."

Hikaru groaned and leaned back in his chair. "But why not?! It's not like there is anything else to do."

Chris sighed and rubbed his temples. "Hikaru, there are plenty of other things to do besides drinking."

"But all of that crap is boring."

"Ya know, if you really feel that way, why don't you just go home?"

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"I dunno . . . Maybe because you have the attention span of a squirrel."

"Oh so now I'm ADHD too?"

"No you're just a child."

"Oh wow thanks. Way to be a mom."

"Well I'm not a woman and I'm younger than you so I don't see how that's possible."

"If you don't want me to call you 'mom' then don't act like one."

"I'll stop acting like this when you decide to grow up."

Hikaru opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it and sat back in his chair. After a moment's pause, he decided to speak. "I still don't get why we can't have another drinking contest. I can hold more tequila than I used to be able to."

Haruhi sighed. "That's not something to be proud of, Hikaru."

Hikaru scoffed and looked over at Sofia. "I see why they're all against it but what about you? I thought you were the fun one? You're usually the one that's all for fun times with alcohol."

"Oh no. Not again. My daughter is now almost three years old, my son is one and a half, and I'm currently about six months pregnant with my second son who seems to be causing me a lot of issues physically. So I really don't think I would want to deal with all of you lightweights and your crappy attitudes if you all got drunk tonight. Frankly, I'm not in the mood to deal with you being an even bigger asshole than you are now."

Hikaru groaned. "Wow no need to be so harsh." He stood up and looked at the rest of the group. "Alright. Come on. Doesn't anyone wanna go for round two?"

Murmurs of disapproval were heard throughout the room.

Then Zoe looked up at Kyoya. "Daddy? What's round two mean?"

Hikaru noticed Zoe's question and groaned. "Dammit." He turned back to look at Chris. "See this is why I don't want to have kids."

At this point, Chris snapped. He got up from his seat and spoke up. "Alright. We're doing this. Round two is happening now. Tamaki, Sofia, Sam, Kaoru. Why don't we get the kids ready for bed?" He turned to face Mitsukuni, Takashi and Kyoya. "Why don't you all set something up? Something hard. Hikaru claims he's been 'practicing' for this, so let's see how much he can hold. Do you have any Kauffman? Ya know what. Just get the best vodka you have."

* * *

As they gathered the kids and brought them into the large room they were all sharing, Sofia questioned Christian. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing? I thought we just agreed that repeating last time would be a bad idea."

Chris just walked into the room and started to pick out a movie for the kids to fall asleep too. "I want to strangle Hikaru. But I know a way to strangle him without actually doing it."

Tamaki questioned Chris as well as he helped Antoine and Akemi change into their pajamas. "What exactly are you going to do to him?"

Kaoru, as he was changing Bella's clothes, spoke up. "Please don't kill my brother. I know he's a moron that tends to cause more harm than good, but I mean you two are dating for a reason."

"Now why would I kill the man I love? I'm not doing anything harmful. Well not permanently harmful at least." He paused for a moment and then turned back to the group with a stack of DVDs in his hand. "Hikaru and I have been together for four years now. I know what liquor he can and can't hold. If we give him vodka, he'll be passed out on the floor faster than we could think to take a first sip."

Sofia laughed. "So really you just wanna shut him up for the night."

"Exactly."

Sam frowned as she finished changing Kazuto. "I don't know about this though. Weird things happen with liquor. We found that out last time. And Kyoya isn't cheap. We have the best vodka money can buy."

Zoe looked over at her mother from the bed she was going to be sleeping in. "Mommy, what's vodka?"

Before Sam could figure out how to answer it, Sofia spoke up. "It's a grown-up drink, sweetheart. You're too little to drink it now. And it tastes icky too so you wouldn't want it anyways."

Chris looked at the kids now that they were all fully changed. "Alright so do you want to watch Brave, Tangled, or Frozen?"

"Frozen!"

"Brave!"

Akemi and Yukimi shouted at the exact same time.

Sam looked over at Zoe, who was sitting there quietly. "Zoe, honey. What do you want to watch?"

Zoe held her pillow close to her as she noticed more and more people in the room looking at her. "T-tangled."

Chris sighed and looked at the three movies. "Alright, Antoine. Since you're the only one who hasn't decided, what do you want to watch? You get to choose."

Antoine stood next to his father, wide-eyed. He wasn't used to getting to choose a movie other than Frozen because of Akemi.

"Ant! If you don choose Frozen, you hate me!"

"Akemi thaz not nice!"

Tamaki looked down at his son. "Antoine you don't have to choose Frozen if you don't want to. I know we watch it almost every day."

Akemi screamed and face planted in the pillow of her bed. "Daddy hates me!"

"Brave! Brave! Brave!" Yukimi had started trying to 'win Antoine over' now too.

Antoine then looked over at Zoe, who was still sitting with her pillow pulled close to her chest. "I choose Tangled."

Akemi, who was still face down on her bed, started screaming again. "Ant hates me! Daddy hates me! Everyone hates me!"

Chris laughed and put Tangled in the Blu-ray player. "Alright. Tangled it is."

After about five more minutes of set up, all of the kids and babies were settled and had already begun to fall asleep.

As soon as the adults left the room and Chris closed the door behind them, Chris spoke up. "Alright. It's time to have some real fun."

* * *

"Okay so my question is: When did we all agree to do this again?" Haruhi sat down next to Tamaki in a similar setting as when they were in high school.

Hikaru turned to Chris. "Yeah when did we all agree to this? You were the one that seemed to be most against it."

Chris sat down and looked at the group. "Well six of us are still pretty damn jet lagged from flying here through time differences. And for the rest of you, I just felt like it would be nice to get the edge off, ya know? Relax without having to worry about the kids, thanks to Takashi, Sofia, and Reiko of course."

Sofia turned to her husband. "You're not drinking this time?"

He shook his head. "I don't want you and Reiko to have to worry about the kids by yourself. And I have to take care of you too."

Sofia gestured to Christian. "Well what about Chris. He's gonna help out too, right?"

Chris laughed and leaned back in his chair. "Sorry Sofia. But this time there is no way in hell I'm staying sober."

Tamaki joined in the conversation. "But I thought it was pretty much impossible to get you drunk."

"Not if I have the right stuff."

Natalia spoke up. "And the 'right stuff' is - ?

"Kauffman vodka." Kyoya sat down next to Samantha. "That is what you requested, right?"

Christian nodded. "And a lot of it."

Hikaru and Kaoru quickly looked at Chris and spoke in unison. "Wait . . . Vodka?"

Mitsukuni pushed the elegant glass bottle of alcohol in front of him to answer the twins' question.

Hikaru glared at his boyfriend and Kaoru placed his head on the table and groaned. "Chris you know what vodka does to me."

"That I do."

"So what the hell?!"

As Mitsukuni and Reiko finished pouring the first round of drinks, Chris lifted his off the table and held it up as a toast. "Here's to round two."

He downed his shot and let out a long breath. "Yep. This is gonna be fun."

_And so it begins . . . again._

**_One Shot Down_ **

Three years have passed since round one, and nothing has really changed . . . or so they all thought.

Once again, the group of participants contorted their faces as they downed the first shot of vodka. Hikaru, Kaoru, Samantha, Kyoya, and Tamaki all hesitated strongly in taking the first sip, knowing well what was going to happen that night, at least to a certain extent.

Meanwhile, Chris had just downed his second shot and was about to down his third when he decided he would wait for everyone to catch up. "See this would be even more fun if any of you were able to hold your liquor. Takashi and Sofia are the only ones that really can, but neither of them is drinking. I mean Sam can hold more than most of you but still."

Tamaki opened his mouth to speak, but Chris stopped him before he could. "Tamaki, don't even try. I got drunk with you at Nat and Kaoru's wedding and there is no way you're going to be able to hold more than four shots of this."

**_Two Shots Down_ **

And, just as the prophecy had foretold, the two lightest of the lightweights had begun to show themselves. But this time, one of the two was different.

Apparently, it is a Hitachiin family trait to not be able to hold vodka. Hikaru and Kaoru were out at the exact same time.

Kaoru finished off his second glass and coughed a little bit. He then turned to his wife and smiled wide. "Nat you have such a pretty smile. I hope I always make you smile." _Oblivious/Happy Drunk (again)_

Natalia laughed at her husband and kissed him. Kaoru was out.

Hikaru finished his second glass at the same time as his twin brother and set his glass down. Once the glass was on the table he stared at it intently. After a moment, he spoke. "Two months."

Chris looked over at his boyfriend. "Huh?"

"We haven't-" Hikaru hiccupped, "-had sex in two months."

Hikaru said this loud enough for the rest of the table to hear, causing Haruhi, Tamaki, Natalia, and Christian to choke on their drinks mid-sip.

Haruhi coughed for a moment and then spoke up. "Hikaru, I really don't think it's appropriate to talk about that now."

Hikaru glared over at Haruhi. "Why? Because I'm gay?!"

Chris scoffed at Hikaru. "Oh shut up that's ridiculous."

"Wha- No! Of course not! It's only inappropriate because you're blatantly talking about having sex! You don't see any of us talking about our sex lives right now, do you?"

Hikaru slammed his fist on the table and turned all the way to Chris. "It just pisses me off! Just because I don't want to get married doesn't mean we can't have sex anymore!" _Angry/Depressed Drunk (again)_

Chris groaned at Hikaru's comment and pushed his glass in front of him. "Alright I need another shot."

**_Three Shots Down_ **

It was only a matter of time before this next person was out. To everyone else's surprise, he lasted a whole shot longer than he normally did.

"Sam," Kyoya linked one of his hands with his wife's. "You are so gorgeous." He leaned his head on her shoulder. "You aren't ever going to leave me, right?" _Clingy drunk (again)_

Samantha laughed at her husband and gave him a quick kiss. "Of course not."

While Kyoya may have been able to last a whole shot longer this time, others weren't able to improve like he did.

Haruhi, for example, lasted one less than she did last time. She had pushed her chair closer to Tamaki's and set her legs over his lap while leaning against his chest. Haruhi let out a long sigh and then giggled quietly.

"Tamaki?"

"Hm?"

"Are you having fun? 'Cause I'm having fun." _Happy/giggly drunk (again)_

"Yeah actually this is a lot of fun."

**_Four Shots Down_ **

"Kaoru . . . You still love me, right?"

Kaoru turned to his wife and smiled. "Well of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

Natalia looked up from her glass, her fourth shot downed, with tears in her eyes. "Because I – I can't give Isabella any siblings. It's not fair! It's not fair to her! It's not fair to you!" She moved in closer to her husband and wrapped her arms around his neck before breaking out into complete sobs. "I just don't want you t-to leave me!"

Kaoru's eyes widened with confusion and he hastily patted Nat's back trying to calm her down. He had no idea what was going on and frankly had no recollection of what he was doing. The only thing he could think of clearly was the fact that his wife was Natalia, his daughter was Bella, and his brother was Hikaru. Everyone else was just blurred in his mind as a "friend."

"Nat, I don't know what you're talking about but it'll be okay!"

Natalia pulled away from her husband and gasped. "It'll be okay?! No it WON'T be okay! Not as long as your dumbass brother is still here!"

"Woah what does Hikaru have to do with this?"

Hikaru stood up, slamming his hands on the table. "Yeah what the hell do I have to do with this!? You're the one that ruined everything, not me!"

Natalia turned to face Hikaru. "Well at least I'm not the one that threw my life away by becoming a dickwad alcoholic!"

"At least I have a hot boyfriend!"

"At least I've got a hot husband!"

Hikaru scoffed. "Why thank you I'm flattered! But sorry you're not my type. I don't date, let alone marry, stuck up bitches."

"Well that's perfectly fine with me because I don't date bitchy alcoholics that like being fucked in the ass! And last time I checked, you don't MARRY anyone!" _Angry/Weepy Drunk (Again)_

Tamaki sat with Haruhi leaning on him. His eyes widened with astonishment. He had seen Natalia and Hikaru fight while drunk before but it was never this crude. Tamaki finished off his fourth shot as he began to get a fairly buzzed, but his mind was focused on only one thing: _"I really hope the kids aren't awake to hear this right now . . ."_

**_Five Shots Down_ **

Chaos was unleashing from all corners of the room, except for the head of the table where Mitsukuni, Reiko, Takashi, and Sofia were seated. To them, this chaos was like a trashy reality television show: a mixture of awful and unnecessary language and sexual content heavily induced by alcohol.

As the four of them watched the chaos unleash (which included Haruhi bursting into random fits of giggles, Hikaru and Natalia cursing each other's graves, Kaoru humming random songs and being completely oblivious to the world outside his currently very pleasant head, and Kyoya clinging onto Samantha, kissing her, and making her promise never to leave him) Sofia spoke up to the rest of the sober group. "So who do you think's next?"

Without hesitation, Takashi, Mitsukuni, and Reiko spoke all together. "Tamaki."

Sofia looked over at them. "Really? Why?"

Takashi spoke first. "He's already slipping. You can tell by the look on his face."

It was true that the look on Tamaki's face had changed. It had changed from concern and shock from Natalia and Hikaru to lofty bliss as he swayed back and forth in small motions and hugged Haruhi close to his chest as she giggled more.

Mitsukuni spoke next. "And it's surprising enough that he lasted this long. Chris did have a point when he mentioned how Tamaki wouldn't be able to hold this well."

They continued to watch the participants' actions for a moment before Reiko finally spoke up. "Tamaki is definitely next but Samantha is following very close behind."

Sofia looked over at Reiko. "What about Christian? When do you think he's gonna finally slip?"

Reiko shook her head. "I don't know. I don't think anyone has actually seen him drunk before."

Mitsukuni spoke once more. "Well last time he got all the way to ten shots with barely a buzz."

"But vodka is a harder drink than tequila." Takashi joined in again.

Sofia laughed and leaned on her husband's shoulder. "Oh hun. Hard liquor is hard liquor. There's nothing too it. How hard the liquor is depends completely on the person. True for most people, vodka is pretty damn hard, but still. It's all relative to whose drinking it. And don't even get me started on mixed drinks."

_At the other end of the table . . ._

"Haruhi darling?"

Haruhi hummed to show she was listening as she dozed off against Tamaki's chest.

"What was our wedding song again?"

Haruhi lifted her head off of Tamaki's chest to actually think about this. "I can't remember right now. It was something really cheesy though." She burst out into another fit of quiet giggles. "Probably something like 'My Heart Will Go On.' You like that kind of thing."

Tamaki's eyes lit up when Haruhi mentioned that song. "I love that song!"

Haruhi laughed louder this time. "Yeah I know, Tamaki." She sat up more and furrowed her brows in thought once more. "You know what? I actually do think that was our wedding song."

Tamaki smiled and swayed back and forth as he held onto Haruhi. He started humming the song before he actually started singing it . . . very poorly.

" _Near, far, wherever you are – I believe that the heart does go on –Once more you open the door-"_

Haruhi laughed even louder and lightly pushed away from Tamaki. "Oh God not this. Tamaki you know you're an awful singer!"

" _And you're here in my heart –And my heart will go on and on-"_

Samantha, who was sitting across from them and just now getting buzzed, groaned as Kyoya clung to her. "Tamaki please don't start singing! You weren't even a good singer when you were little! Stick to the piano!"

Instead of stopping as requested, Tamaki used one arm to continue hugging Haruhi tight while the other arm waved out in a grandiose gesture as he harshly belted the final verse of the song. " _YOU'RE HERE, THERE'S NOTHING I FEAR, AND I KNOW THAT MY HEART WILL GO ON-"_

The rest of the group of adults, including the non-drinkers, all groaned and shouted complaints. "TAMAKI SHUT UP!" "BOOOO!" "GO BACK TO YOUR PIANO!" "LET SOFIA SING IT INSTEAD!"

Tamaki stood up, causing Haruhi to stand as well, and held Haruhi's face close to his chest as he finished the song, ignoring everyone around him. " _WE'LL STAY FOREVER THIS WAY – YOU ARE SAFE IN MY HEART AND MY HEART WILL GO ON AND ON!"_

**_Six Shots Down_ **

"Kyoya."

"Sam you're so beautiful."

"Kyoya."

"I love you so much."

"No. Kyoya. Come on."

"No don't leave me."

"It's too hot in here for this."

"But I love you."

"And my pants feel weird. I don't want to wear them anymore."

After that statement, Kyoya latched onto his wife even tighter than before. He wrapped his arms around her waist and started sobbing. "SAM NO PLEASE DON'T DO THIS AGAIN IT'S NOT FAIR."

Without even peeling her husband off of her, Sam quickly discarded her shirt and let out a long sigh. "That feels nice."

"SAM PLEASE NO." _Stripper Drunk (Again)_

_Across the table . . ._

"And once again, Sam has her clothes off . . . this time it happened sooner though-"

Takashi, Mitsukuni, and Reiko looked over at Sofia as she spoke.

"-'cause I remember last time I think she lasted all the way to eight."

Takashi nodded. "Yeah. I remember that. And now, just like last time, Chris is the last one left."

"Well last time he had to compete with you until you got out at ten." Mitsukuni spoke up.

Reiko joined in the conversation quietly. "I wonder how long he's going to last this time."

**_Seven._ **

**_Eight._ **

**_Nine Shots Down._ **

"Holy shit."

Takashi looked at his wife. "What's wrong?"

"I think Chris just broke."

The four sober adults all turned to look over at Chris. The young Italian man downed his ninth shot and slammed the glass on the table. Well they all thought it was his ninth shot. It was for everyone else that was still drinking after getting drunk. In reality, Chris stopped waiting for everyone to catch up and began taking shots in between shots. So really, this was his twelfth or so shot.

Once he slammed the glass down on the table, he stared at it for a moment. Then he turned his direction back to his boyfriend. After a moment of just looking at Hikaru, Chris began to stare more intently as he leaned his head on his palm. A small smirk crept across the youngest of the adult's lips.

Hikaru reached to grab something to throw at Natalia when he noticed Chris staring at him. "What the hell do you want? Are you just gonna nag me some more?"

Completely disregarding Hikaru's second question, Chris's smirk grew more visible as he looked at his boyfriend. "You."

"Wait what?"

"I. Want. You."

Chris got up and sat on the table in front of Hikaru, stopping the fight between him and Natalia. Natalia groaned and went over to where Kaoru was and began crying to him again, confusing him once more. Chris reached next to him, picked up a drink, and held it up to Hikaru. "Here. Have another drink."

Hikaru looked at the glass skeptically before taking it and gulping it down. The older twin almost lost his balance before Chris grabbed him by his belt loops on his pants and pulled him as close to him as possible. "What the hell are you doing, Chris?"

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Chris walked his fingers up Hikaru's chest and continued to smirk. "You asked me what I wanted and I said I. Want. You." He separated the last three words and emphasized them.

Hikaru, whose words had begun to slur together a bit, narrowed his eyes. "Whaddyou mean by that?"

Chris laughed and pulled Hikaru's face close next to his and whispered to him. "I want _you_ to fuck _me_."

Hikaru blushed profusely at Chris's statement and tried to walk away, but Chris pulled his boyfriend close and started an extremely heated kiss between the two. _Horny Drunk._

* * *

_Alcohol can cause traumatic experiences . . . especially for small children._

"Akemi! Yukimi! Come back! We're 'posed to be sleeping now!" Antoine whisper-shouted to his sister and her new best friend.

The two girls turned around and actual-shouted back. "But we want cookies!"

"But it's bedtime!"

Zoe squirmed next to Antoine and spoke quietly. "Pleath don't go. I don wanna get in trouble."

Akemi laughed. "You two are just being big babies!"

Antoine stomped his foot in anger. "Kemi, I am NOT a baby! All the babies are sleeps now!"

"If you're nodda baby, come take the cookies wit us!" Yukimi crossed her arms and smirked at Antoine.

"Fine!"

Zoe let out a high pitched groan. "No! Don't go! We're gonna get in trouble!"

Antoine looked back at Zoe. "C'mon Zoe! We're not babies!"

Zoe let out the same disapproving noise but followed the three other children.

As they approached the kitchen to get the cookies, they noticed the amount of chaotic noise coming from the dining room. Two distinct things could be heard from the room: Tamaki singing any song he could think of very out of tune and Kyoya sobbing over Sam's gradually less-clothed body.

Antoine and Akemi both looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.

"Why's Daddy singing?"

Akemi shrugged. "I dunno but he's no good."

Zoe looked worried rather than confused. She let out a small whine and almost started crying. "Why ith my daddy crying? Daddy's not 'posed to be thad . . ."

The three of them and Yukimi decided to make their way to the dining room to see what was going on. Zoe led the group because she was the most worried about her father. The four children got to the dining room door and poked their heads in.

_And that's when they saw it._

_That's when they were completely traumatized._

Tamaki stood on his chair and sang loudly to Haruhi who was sitting on the table in front of him and laughing hysterically. Natalia was crying as Kaoru smiled and patted her back. Kyoya, who was fully clothed except for his lack of glasses, and Samantha, who was barely clothed and sitting on her husband's lap, were in a heated lip lock while Kyoya continued to sob and tell Samantha how beautiful she was. Another heated lip lock was happening close by. On the table, Christian and Hikaru barely separated from each other to breathe as they pushed glasses and whatnot off of the table to continue their less-than-decent and a-little-too-aggressive moment of intimacy. It wasn't quite to the point where they were having sex, but if they continued for maybe ten more minutes, it would be.

"W-why ith Mommy- and Daddy ith-"

"What's going on?"

Antoine's and Zoe's lips quivered as they saw the events unfold. The two of them were completely traumatized and wanted to break down and cry and have it all stop right then and there.

Yukimi and Akemi, on the other hand, found this to be absolutely hilarious.

The two girls broke out into a fit of giggles and looked at each other.

"The grown-ups are havin soooo much fun!"

"Yeah! We need the fun too!"

Akemi and Yukimi were, unfortunately, quite loud with their laughter and comments, causing the sober adults to notice their presence outside the door.

"Shit! You've got to be kidding me!" Sofia got up as quickly as her weakened body would let her and made her way towards the door. "Yukimi Aiyana Morinozuka! If you don't go back to bed right now, so help me-"

Yukimi screamed and ran back towards the room. Takashi and Reiko rushed to the door and ended up beating Sofia to it. Before Yukimi, Akemi, Antoine, or Zoe could run back to the room, Takashi had picked Yukimi and Akemi up and held them on each of his shoulders. Reiko had picked Zoe up because she couldn't stop crying, and Antoine clung to Sofia as he sobbed as well.

* * *

The three of them brought the four children back to the room and set them back up for bed. But they kept asking questions about what they had just seen.

"Mommy, what was eveyone doin in there?"

"Being dumb."

"Why?"

"Because grown-up can be dumb sometimes."

"Why?"

"Yukimi go to bed."

"But Mommy!"

"Yukimi listen to your mother."

The almost three year old looked over at her father and pouted. "Okay . . ."

Akemi glared at her twin brother, who was now clinging onto Reiko and crying. "Ant, it's all your fault we got in trouble."

Antoine just began to sob louder instead of responding to his sister. Reiko did her best to calm him down by patting his back and rocking him back and forth in her lap.

"Miss Thofia . . . Why was my daddy crying?"

Sofia sat down at the edge of Zoe's little bed and laughed. "Because he was being silly, sweetheart."

"But Daddy isn't a thilly person . . ."

"Well he is tonight."

"But why?"

"Because, like I said, grown-ups can be dumb."

"But Daddy's not dumb."

"Usually, no he's not. But tonight he is."

"But why wath he crying?"

"Because he really loves your mommy."

"And why dint Mommy have any clothes on?"

"Because your mommy was being VERY dumb tonight."

"Oh . . . Okay."

Sofia pulled Zoe into a hug and then got up from the bed. "It'll be okay, Zoe. You four should just get some sleep and everything will be fine tomorrow."

* * *

When Takashi, Sofia, and Reiko got back into the dining room, they walked in to see Mitsukuni standing on the center of the table and everyone else sitting one chair apart from one another in a very orderly fashion.

"Mitsukuni, what did you do?"

"I enforced a little bit of much needed order, Takashi." He looked around the table and smiled with pride in the job he had just done. "Alright. So party's over! Chris technically won . . . Again. Hika-chan and Kao-chan lost first because they were out first and both of them almost passed out a few minutes ago."

Sofia walked up to the table. "So I guess it's bed time for everyone now?"

Mitsukuni nodded. "Yep!" He pointed at two of the couples. "Kyo-chan and Sam! Hika-chan and Chris! Since you four seem to be very interested in intimacy at the moment, you go to your rooms now before any of us sees too much."

The four that were called out blushed profusely due to embarrassment.

"The rest of you can gradually make your way to your rooms. But NO MORE DRINKING! You are all adults so act like them!" Mitsukuni then hopped off the table and walked over to his wife, smiling. He noticed that everyone was still just sitting there in silence. "I'm done! Now go!"

He smiled back at his wife as the rest of the couples, save Takashi and Sofia, made their way out of the room. Hikaru and Chris rushed out of the room, longing to continue what was forcefully interrupted by Mitsukuni, but Kyoya and Sam made their way out at the same pace as everyone else.

Reiko gave her husband a small smile. "That was very organized and mature. I am proud of you."

Mitsukuni pulled Reiko into a hug and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you Reiko-chan!"

Sofia laughed and spoke up once all the other couples were gone. "So how many of them know that the kids saw what happened?"

Mitsukuni looked over at Sofia. "All of them. I told them what happened and that they should be ashamed of themselves for not having more self-control."

Takashi joined in the conversation. "But how many of them will remember that the kids saw it."

Mitsukuni paused for a moment to think. "I'd say four maybe five. I know Tama-chan, Haru-chan, Kyo-chan, and Sam will remember it for sure. And maybe Natalia too."

"Let's hope that the kids think it was just a nightmare . . ."

* * *

As the couples made their way to breakfast the next morning, Tamaki and Samantha were very confused.

"Zoe won't come to breakfast. She says she doesn't feel good."

"Antoine and Akemi said the same thing. And they said they didn't want to go into the dining room ever again."

Sofia looked over at Mitsukuni and laughed. "I guess you were wrong."

"I guess I was."

Once everyone was seated, whether they are completely conscious or not, Sofia looked at them and spoke up. "So . . . I'm guessing you guys had fun last night?"

Haruhi spoke first. "No."

Kyoya spoke next. "Absolutely not."

Kaoru, Natalia, Samantha, and Tamaki all spoke next. "I don't remember."

The only ones that said yes were Hikaru and Chris.

"I mean this hangover is fucking awful but I had fun last night."

Chris smirked as he ate his food. Even though he got hammered too, he didn't have much of a hangover. "A lot of fun."

The entire group looked over at Hikaru and Chris and groaned. "Yeah we know."

Mitsukuni was the only one to speak after that. "So I guess your two months is up now . . ."

Hikaru choked on his food at that comment and turned bright red. "W-what?!"

"Hikaru . . . You told them about it last night when you first got drunk . . ."

Hikaru looked at his boyfriend, his jaw completely slack. "Ohmygod. . ."

" . . . Yeah . . ."

There was silence for a moment before Takashi spoke up.

"So I think we can all agree to not do that again."

_Not again. Not EVER again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so like I said, this chapter was suuuper long and I put A SHIT TON of time into this. And yay we finally got to figure out what kind of drunk Chris is (horny/aggressive)! I really enjoyed that tbh.
> 
> Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you enjoy the next chapter (THAT I FORESHADOWED HEAVILY IN THIS CHAPTER WITH TAKASHI AND SOFIA SO YEAH) that I really enjoyed writing!
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW! THANKS MUCH!


	24. Talk to Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are medical/factual inaccuracies in this chapter that I am completely aware of. It would be too much to change them because I would have to change much of the chapter. Think of this as a soap opera style scenario: unrealistic but dramatic and sad nonetheless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TAKASHI SPEAKS! AND A LOT! In this chapter at least. But I mean it's only fitting because like this chapter is ALL ABOUT TAKASHI AND SOFIA AND THEIR CUTE LITTLE FAMILY!
> 
> But it's sad so aw. But its also heartwarming so double aw. And its factual because I looked up a whole lotta ish for this chapter so go jess!
> 
> But yeah this chapter is about 1/2 the length of the last chapter. Mainly because the last chapter included 19 people and 16 of the 19 people in the last chapter are able to speak. And this chapter has 3 main people that can speak, 1 baby that can kinda speak sometimes, a few doctors, and another baby near the end that can't speak at all yet so yeah a lot less words to fit in this.
> 
> Oh and also a cameo appearance from Honi and Reiko so yay!
> 
> ANYWAYS, break out the tissues for this tear-jerker of a chapter and just for the fact that this situation in this chapter causes Takashi's and Sofia's personalities to change quite a bit. Certain situations bring out an entirely different side of a person . . .

_September 14th 2019_

"Yukimi, what do you want to eat?"

The almost three year old just sat in the chair and pouted.

"Yukimi you have to eat something."

"Mommy's not eating wit us so I don wanna eat."

Takashi poured a small mound of dry cheerios in front of Adrian, who was fidgeting in his highchair, and then sat across from his daughter.

"She's still sick, so she's staying in bed. She can't eat anything right now. But you're not sick so you need to eat something. If you don't eat anything then you'll get sick too."

"Then I don wanna eat. I'm be sick like mommy."

"Yukimi that's not how it works."

"But if no eating makes you sick, why isn't mommy eating?"

"Do you want me to go ask her what she wants to eat?"

Yukimi sat up straight and nodded vigorously.

"Okay. Watch your brother. I'll be right back."

Takashi got up and walked down the hall to his and his wife's bedroom. He opened the door to find Sofia sitting in bed staring intently at the laptop resting on her legs. Her hair was pulled back into a messy and loose ponytail. Her skin was pale, especially compared to her usual tan tone. She had a slight flush on her cheeks due to a mild fever. One hand was on her swollen stomach, and the other was scrolling down the page on the computer.

When Sofia saw her husband walk in the room, she looked up and gave him a small but genuine smile. "Hey. How are the kids doing?"

He walked over and sat next to Sofia on the bed. "Adrian's the same as usual." He paused for a moment before continuing. "But Yukimi won't eat unless you do too."

Sofia sighed and frowned, but she didn't say a word.

"She's convinced that if you're sick, she's sick too. So I came to ask what you wanted for breakfast."

Sofia looked back at her husband. "You know I won't be able to keep anything down."

"I know. And I tried to tell her that you're still sick so you can't eat anything, but she still won't eat."

Sofia sighed and closed her laptop. "Alright. I'm coming downstairs to eat with you."

"No."

"But she has to eat, Takashi."

There was a minute of silence before Takashi spoke again.

"You do too. But I don't want you getting out of bed."

"It won't stay in my system for more than ten minutes . . . I can at least sit down there with you three so that Yukimi will eat. "

"You have to at least try to eat. It's not good for you or the baby if you don't eat anything."

" . . .But- "

"Sofia."

Another minute of silence.

"Takashi . . . What if something happens to our baby? What if I'm sick because something is wrong with him?"

Takashi stood up and walked toward the door. "I'm making you some toast."

"Takashi I'm serious." She paused and looked down at her stomach. Even though she was just under seven months pregnant, her stomach was smaller than it was during her other two pregnancies. "What if we lose him?"

"We won't."

"How do you know?"

"I don't. But if we think that we will, it might just happen. . ."

Sofia sighed and brushed some loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Takashi this is serious. What are we gonna do if we lose him?"

"Everything is going to be fine. Just relax. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Why won't you talk about this with me?"

He stood silently at the door with his back facing his wife.

"Takashi."

"Because . . ."

"That's not an answer."

He stayed silent and moved his hand to the doorknob.

Sofia, who was now growing frustrated with her husband's silence, turned completely to face Takashi and spoke louder, almost in a shout. "Takashi why won't you talk to me?!"

Takashi turned back to face his wife and his normally calm demeanor was broken as he shouted back, louder than Sofia. "Because I can't, Sofia! I can't talk about this! I can't talk about this because I'm scared! I'm just as scared as you are if not more!"

After his sudden outburst and a moment of tense silence afterward, Takashi turned back to the door and opened it and started to leave before Sofia stopped him again.

"Kashi."

He turned to look at her again.

"Tell Yukimi that she can come eat with me."

Without saying a word, he left.

* * *

When Takashi walked back into the kitchen, most of Adrian's food was gone. So was Yukimi.

"Yukimi?"

"I'm here!" Yukimi shouted as she stood on her toes and looked over Adrian's high chair plate.

"Well I'm making mommy some breakfast, so what do you want to eat?"

"Mommy's eatin wit us?!"

"No."

Yukimi frowned and went back to her normal height. "Oh. Then I don wanna eat."

"She said you can go eat with her in our room."

"But Mommy needs to eat here! She cant stay in bed forever. Mommy's not lazy."

The kitchen went back to silence, other than Adrian shouting random words like "blue" or "Kimi" or "nope."

"Daddy? Why were you yelling?"

"It was nothing, Yukimi."

Yukimi went silent after she let out a quiet sigh. That conversation was over.

Takashi glanced back around when he heard Yukimi struggle to reach something and then the crunching of cereal.

"Yukimi, are you stealing Adrian's food?"

"Nope."

He turned back around as the toast finished up, but then quickly turned back to his son and daughter as he heard the same noise.

"Yukimi stop taking Adrian's food."

She quickly stood on her toes and looked over at her father. Her dark, curly hair bounced in its ponytail. Yukimi kept a completely straight face as she spoke, but what gave her away was the single cheerio still stuck to her cheek.

"Daddy I'm not 'tealing his food. I don wanna eat."

Takashi sighed and pulled out a bowl. Once the toast was finished, he put it on a small plate and filled the bowl with cheerios. "Do you want milk with your cereal Yukimi?"

"Nope."

He then walked over to Yukimi and handed her the plate and the bowl. "Go have breakfast with Mommy. Don't drop this though."

"But you havta eat too, Daddy."

"I will. But I'll eat out here with Adrian."

Yukimi nodded and took the plate and bowl and carefully walked down the hall.

Once she reached the door, Takashi heard her shout in a cheery tone. "Knock knock! 'livery for my Mommy!"

* * *

**_Sunday 15 September 2019_ **

Yukimi decided to wake up especially early Sunday morning: Seven o'clock. The small girl crept out of her room in a Princess Merida styled night gown and her hair in a long mess framing her face. She walked down the hall until she reached the living room. This was a daily routine for Yukimi but this was earlier than usual.

She sat down on the couch and picked up the remote. Sofia had taught her how to use it so that she didn't have to wake them up when she wanted to watch TV. She pressed a few buttons and the screen turned on, but there was no sound coming from it. Yukimi didn't know how to work the volume, so she got up and went over to where the TV was and began pressing buttons.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

She accidentally turned the surround sound on. Now the entire house was blaring with a little girl's shrill screams and said little girl's favorite song: Run the World by Beyoncé.

After that it turned into a chain reaction. The loud music led to Yukimi screaming. Yukimi screaming led to Adrian screaming. All of the noise led to Sofia waking up. The only person unaffected by the sudden racket was Takashi.

Takashi, being the extremely heavy sleeper he was, was sound asleep, face in his pillow, and quietly snoring.

"Kashi."

No movement.

"Hun, the kids are awake."

None at all.

"Takashi."

A slight shift in position. Nothing more.

"TAKASHI WAKE UP!"

Nothing was waking him up.

Sofia groaned and forced her weak and aching body out of bed. Instead of putting her slippers on, she picked one of them up and walked towards the door. Before she walked out of the room, she threw the slipper at Takashi's face and said "Time to get up! Go get Adrian." This finally woke her husband up with a start.

Sofia walked out of the room and down the hall until she reached the living room where she found Yukimi hiding behind the couch as Beyoncé blared from the screen.

She chuckled and turned the surround sound off and the TV speakers on, making the house substantially quieter. "You can come out now, Kimi."

Yukimi came out from behind the couch and ran over to her mother. "Mommy! I thought you had to be in bed? Daddy said you had to be in bed."

"Well I'm feeling a little better," she lied, "so I thought I could come say hi. And Daddy wouldn't get out of bed to help you with the TV, so I had to."

Yukimi giggled and grabbed her mother's hand. "Come on! Le's watch a movie!"

"Alright. What movie do you wanna watch?"

"BRAVE!" Yukimi answered without the slightest bit of hesitation. Brave, even though it was almost ten years old, was undeniably Yukimi's favorite movie. It was mainly because of their "funny" Scottish accents.

"Okay okay. Let me go put it in." Sofia walked over to the TV and went to pick up the movie. But she winced as soon as she tried to bend down.

As soon as she winced and stood back up, Takashi walked in the room with Adrian in his arms. "Sofia you should be in bed."

Sofia sighed and looked over at her husband. "I'm fine. Yukimi and I are about to watch a movie. I don't need to be in bed."

Takashi set Adrian down so he could run over to his little toy box in the corner. He then walked over to where Sofia was and put Brave in the DVD player. "I don't want you moving around a lot. You don't need to be in any more pain than you already are."

Yukimi sat up on the couch and frowned. "What? Mommy's hurting? Why is Mommy hurting?"

Takashi walked over to his daughter and crouched down in front of her. "Yukimi. I'm going to take a shower and get dressed. I want you to make sure Mommy doesn't get up or hurt herself while you two watch the movie, okay? Can you do that for me?"

Yukimi nodded. "Will do, Daddy!"

Takashi smiled and kissed her on the forehead. He then got back up and walked over to Sofia. "If Yukimi can get it for you or do it for you, let her." He reached down and held onto Sofia's hands. "Please, Sofie. Just be careful with this, okay?"

Sofia gave him a small smile and nodded. "Okay I will. Don't worry."

"Promise me."

She let out a quiet laugh and brought her hand up to Takashi's face before pulling him into a quick kiss. "I promise. Now go take a shower. You smell like baby."

Takashi started walking out of the living room when he suddenly turned back around. "I don't have to take a shower right now. I can stay out here with you."

"Hun, I'll be fine."

"Are you sure? I just don't want you getting hurt. What if something happens?"

Sofia glared at her husband. "Takashi. Go. I'm watching a movie with our daughter, not running a marathon."

Takashi nodded and left the room. Sofia walked over and sat down next to Yukimi on the couch while Adrian continued to play with his toys on the floor.

About five minutes into the movie, Adrian started going through the DVD's and throwing them all on the floor.

"Adrian. Adrian stop it. Put the DVD's down." Sofia was about to get up to stop her son, but Yukimi stopped her.

"No Mommy. You stay here. I goddit." Yukimi got up and ran over to Adrian and pulled the DVD's away from him. "Adrian, Mommy said stop, so stop."

Adrian then shouted "No!" and ran away from Yukimi.

"I'll get him." Sofia started to get up, but Yukimi pushed her back down.

"No! Daddy said to take care of you! I said I goddis Mommy."

Yukimi then ran out of the room and after her brother. After about a minute of silence, there was a loud thud heard from the kitchen. "Adrian no! Get down!"

Sofia got up when she heard that, but held her sides and winced in pain because she started cramping badly. After a quick moment, they seemed to subside a bit, so she walked over to the kitchen. "Yukimi? What's going on?"

She walked into the kitchen to find Yukimi pushing a chair up against the counter that Adrian was currently crawling on. "Kimi sweetie, put the chair back. I'll get your brother."

"Mommy you're not 'posed to be up!"

Sofia walked over to the counter, but before she could get there, the cramping came back. This time the pain was much sharper and more sudden. She quickly grabbed her side and stomach, causing Yukimi to gasp and run over to her. "Mommy! Mommy are you hurting!?"

She then felt a very thin liquid, almost like water, being to ever-so-slowly run down her leg.

"Oh no. No no no, not now!"

"Mommy what's wrong?!"

"Yukimi, go get Daddy. Hurry."

The small, dark-haired girl ran out of the room. "Daddy! Daddy! Something's wrong wit Mommy! Mommy needs you!"

Not even a second later, Takashi was seen running out of his bedroom to his daughter. "Yukimi, what's wrong? Where's Mommy?"

Yukimi had tears in her eyes at this point. "I-in the kijen. She's h-hurting real bad, Daddy. I dunno what's wrong!"

Takashi crouched down and wiped Yukimi's face off. "It's okay, Kimi. You know how to use my phone, right?"

She nodded.

He took out his phone and handed it to her. "Call Mitsu-san and Reiko-san. They'll watch you and Adrian while Mommy and I are gone."

"W-where are you going?"

"I think I have to take Mommy to the doctor."

Yukimi nodded and then followed her father while they rushed to the kitchen.

While she walked behind Takashi, Yukimi called Mitsukuni and Reiko. She was a little choked up on the phone but she maintained her composure enough to speak clearly. "Mitsu-san. Daddy told me to call you. Mommy's hurting and Daddy needs to take her to the doctors. Can you come over and stay wit me an Adrian? Mmhmm. Okay. Bye-bye."

She handed the phone back to her father as they got into the kitchen. "Daddy, him and Reiko-san are coming now."

Takashi nodded and rushed over to his wife, who was now leaning against the counter and wincing in pain. "Sofia, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Takashi, it's happening. It's happening now. Two months early."

Without a moment's hesitation, Takashi took Adrian off of the counter and then picked up Sofia bridal style. "Yukimi, take your brother into the living room and wait for Mitsu-san there."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. "I'll geddit!" Yukimi shouted and ran to the front door, Adrian running close behind her.

"Mitsu-san! Reiko-san! That was real fast!" The couple walked in and Mitsukuni hugged Yukimi and then picked up Adrian.

"Where's your dad, Kimi?"

Just then, Takashi rushed toward the front door with Sofia in his arms. "Mitsukuni. I need you to watch the kids. I need to take Sofia to the hospital."

"Takashi, what happened?"

"She just went into labor."

This time, Reiko spoke up. "What? She isn't due for another two months."

"I know."

Mitsukuni nodded and let Takashi pass. "Alright. We'll stay here as long as you need us to. I hope you two and the baby are safe."

Takashi nodded and with that, they were gone.

* * *

The waiting room was fairly quiet. Soft beeping. The occasional phone ringing. A cart rolling followed by some footsteps. It was already midnight. Seventeen hours. Takashi and Sofia Morinozuka have been at the hospital for just under seventeen hours. The labor stopped about an hour after arriving, but she began to run a fever, so they decided to keep her here until the fever calmed a bit. She went back into labor about an hour ago. The doctors said that once Sofia was stable, Takashi could come in the room. But as of now, there were quite a few doctors in the room, so he had to wait in the waiting room.

A door opening and slowly closing a moment after. Footsteps. The brushing sound of the cloth of scrubs as the doctor walked. "Mr. Morinozuka?"

Takashi looked over at the doctor as he spoke.

"Your wife is stable enough now. You can come in the room."

He nodded and stood up, following the doctor.

Once he entered the room, he saw Sofia laying in the hospital bed. Her face was more pale than it had ever been. A few strands of hair clung to her face because she was sweating. There was a light flush across her cheeks because of her fading fever.

Sofia looked over at her husband when he walked in and gave him a weak smile. "Kashi, come here."

Takashi walked over and pulled up a chair next to the bed.

Before Takashi had the chance to speak, Sofia noticed that his eyes bloodshot and slightly puffy, so she frowned. He had been crying earlier, but he tried to hide it.

She moved her hand to cup his cheek. His face was cold compared to her hand. She smiled at him and wiped her thumb along his cheek. "Takashi. You don't need to worry anymore. I'm alright now. And so is he. Our baby boy. I know it's early but soon he's going to be born and he's gonna grow up to be strong and tall and handsome and healthy. Just like you."

Takashi held onto Sofia's hand and then kissed her palm. "I'm glad you're alright now." He paused for a moment. "But . . . I think we should wait a few years to have any more kids."

Sofia chuckled and smiled wide at her husband. "Yeah I think that's a good idea."

Sofia's laughter was cut short when her contractions started again.

Between screams and cries, Sofia gripped Takashi's hand tight and looked over at him, pleading. "Takashi, don't leave. Stay here, please."

He squeezed her hand back as a sign of reassurance and kissed her knuckles. "I won't. I'll be right here. I promise."

* * *

An hour later, after all the screaming and crying was over, a baby boy was born. Born two months and one week early, at three pounds and two ounces, was the newest member of the Morinozuka family. Unfortunately he wasn't healthy in the slightest. And now, neither was Sofia.

"So both your wife and your son are stable for now, but your under further examination, your son has patent ductus arteriosus, or PDA. It's a heart condition that is more common with premature babies but still it's quite rare."

Takashi glanced back at Sofia, who was practically in a comatose state in the hospital bed behind him, and then spoke to the doctor. "So is he going to be okay? Is he going to have to live with this?"

"Well there is a chance he will have some minor health defects resulting from this condition, but he will, if everything goes smoothly, not have to live with PDA. He will be alright if we treat his condition. So that's where you come in. We have two options for treating your son."

Takashi nodded along and listened intently as the doctor spoke.

"We can either give him medication that will help gradually close the PDA, granted the medication is affective. Or we can, since he seems to be stable enough and has no other detected heart problems, bring him into surgery as soon as possible. If the medication is ineffective, there is a chance he will develop other heart problems, but the medication is rarely ineffective so this is entirely your choice. There isn't necessarily a better of the two."

There was a moment of silence between the doctor and Takashi as Takashi ran his hands through his hair and contemplated his decision.

"I do understand it if you want to wait to discuss this with your wife, but seeing as we aren't completely sure when she will be waking up, I must insist you make the decision now."

Takashi sighed and rubbed his hand over his face and then spoke up. "Go with the surgery. I trust the surgery will go as planned so it's better to save him now rather than hope the medication works and have to save him later."

The doctor nodded. "Alright. We will prep the room now and we should be ready to have him in surgery within the next hour. The surgery itself will take around an hour so if everything goes well, in about two hours, your son should be stable and healthy enough for you and your wife to actually meet him."

Takashi nodded and the doctor made his way out of the room. Before he left, the doctor turned back to Takashi and smiled. "Your son is pretty strong for a premature baby. I have little to no doubts that everything will go well. I'll be back to update you on the status of him as soon as he's out of surgery."

* * *

When Sofia woke up, she saw Takashi with his head resting on one of his hands as he stared at his feet. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy still, but worse than before. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was messed up from running his hands through it so often in the past twenty-four hours.

Sofia blinked and looked over at him. She felt awful and could barely move. When she saw her husband's current state, she frowned. "Kashi?"

He looked over in her direction. When he realized that she was finally awake, he got up and stood at her side.

"Kashi, what's wrong?"

He gave her a sad smile and brushed her hair away from her face. "I'm glad you're finally awake."

"What do you mean 'finally awake?' How long have I been out? And you didn't answer my question. What's wrong?"

"You've been out for about two hours now. It's not really long but it's felt like days have gone by. You went out almost immediately after giving birth. And it's nothing. Everything will be fine."

 _Something's wrong. This doesn't feel right._ She frowned at her husband again and tried to sit up. He wouldn't let her and neither would her body. She was too weak to support herself. "Takashi. What's wrong? You never act like this."

"Everything is going to be fine."

"Why do you keep saying that like it isn't fine already?" She paused, waiting for an answer, but he didn't respond. "I had the baby. I'm awake now. I'm not dead. The baby is fine. So why isn't everything alright already?"

Still no answer. Takashi just looked down at the floor and avoided his wife's glare.

"Takashi. The baby is fine, right?"

"Sofia. . ."

She gathered enough strength to sit herself up against the headboard of the bed. "What happened to our baby?" Her voice was coated with rage and sadness. She sounded like she was either on the verge of tears, or about to go on an angry rampage. . . Or both. "Takashi Morinozuka, where the hell is my son?!"

He still refused to look at her. "He's not here right now."

Her anger dissipated and turned into complete sadness. Tears welled up in her eyes and she became choked up. "K-Kashi . . . Please, please tell me we didn't lose him. Please."

"We didn't lose him."

"Are you just saying that to calm me down?"

"No. We really didn't lose him. He's still alive. He's just in surgery right now."

Sofia was pale already, but now she was ghostly. Her eyes went wide as she stared at her husband. "Why . . . What did he have to get surgery for?"

Takashi finally looked at Sofia. "PDA. Patent Ductus Arteriosus. It's a heart problem. Apparently it is more common in premature babies as young as him. They asked if I wanted to keep him on the medication for it or just go with surgery. So I said to go with surgery."

"Why!? Why would you put our baby through that so soon after birth!? Why didn't you talk to me about it first?!"

"I couldn't."

"Yes you cou-"

"No I couldn't. You were completely unconscious. You've practically been on life support all this time. You almost died, Sofia. And so did he. So I made the decision to get this surgery over with now instead of running the risk of the medicine being ineffective and having him go into surgery later."

Neither of them spoke for about a minute.

"He went into surgery about twenty minutes ago. If everything goes well, he should be out within the next hour."

"So there's a chance he still won't surv-"

" _When_ everything goes well, he will have to stay in the hospital for a little while. You will too. But not as long as him."

"What about Yukimi and Adrian?"

"I'll go home once everything is settled here and then I will bring them here to see you. The doctor said you should be cleared by the end of the week."

"And the baby?"

"It depends on how well the surgery goes. It'll range from two weeks to two months."

" . . . Alright."

"You should get some rest, Sofie. I'll wake you up when he gets out of surgery."

* * *

A little less than an hour later, Sofia was being woken up by her husband.

"Is he alright? How did it go?"

"It went well. He's doing great. His vitals are normal and everything."

She sat up and smiled. "Can we see him?"

"Yeah but we have to go to him."

He was so small. His little face was pink and scrunched up. He had a line of stitches down the center of his tiny chest. He was sound asleep in and incubator connected to a tube that seemed to be giving him oxygen.

"He's so tiny." Sofia, sitting in a wheelchair, had her hand up against the glass as she stared at her newborn. Tears welled up in her eyes at the sight of him. "That's our little boy, Kashi. That's Yukimi and Adrian's little brother."

Takashi didn't say a word. He simply stood next to his wife and looked down at his son.

"He's little, but he's alive. He's alive, Kashi. He survived." She turned and smiled up at her husband. "That's how I know he's gonna be just like you. He's strong. A little fighter."

The two just sat in silence for a moment before Sofia spoke again. "What should we name him?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Takashi spoke. "Katsuo."

"Why?"

"It means 'warrior.' Well, it means a few things, but warrior is one of them."

Sofia turned back to the glass and put her hand up against it once more. She smiled warmly at her son. "Katsuo. I like that. Our little warrior."

"Yeah. Our little warrior."

_Katsuo Morinozuka. Born September 16_ _th_ _, 2019 at 1:37 a.m. 3lbs 2oz. 9 weeks premature._

* * *

**_Friday, September 20_ ** **_th_ ** **_, 2019 7:15 a.m._ **

"Daddy." Yukimi sat up in her parent's bed and pushed on her father's shoulder.

He didn't wake up.

"Daddy, come on! We havta bring Mommy home today!"

A small snore.

Yukimi grabbed onto Takashi's arm, which she had clung to all night, and pulled as hard as a not-even-three year old could.

"Daddy! Wake up!"

A slight shift in movement.

Yukimi crawled off of the bed and picked up one of her mother's slippers. She had seen Sofia do this a few times to Takashi, and each time he woke up immediately.

The little girl stood on the edge of the bed and tossed the slipper at her father's face. As soon as she no longer had the slipper in her hands, she placed her hands on her hips and spoke in her best Sofia voice. "Takashi, wake up!"

As expected, Takashi sat up in bed immediately. A confused look washed across his face when he saw his daughter standing at the edge of his bed. "Did you just call me Takashi?"

Yukimi giggled. "That's what Mommy does when you don wake up. So I wanna tried it."

She then ran and jumped on her father while shouting. "Mommy comes home today! We got go get Mommy!"

Takashi laughed and kissed the top of his daughter's head. "I know I know. So you should go get dressed so we can go get Mommy, okay?"

As fast as she could, Yukimi crawled off of her father and hopped off of the bed. She ran out of the room and into her own room to change.

Twenty minutes later, Takashi, Yukimi and Adrian were all on their way to the hospital.

"So the baby hasta stay here?"

Sofia nodded as she held her daughter's hand. They were just now leaving the hospital. "Not for long, though. Katsuo should be able to come home in about two weeks."

"He's so teeny."

Sofia chuckled. "Yeah. That's what happens when you're born two months early."

"So am I gonna have 'nother baby brother next year too?"

Takashi and Sofia laughed at their daughter's question.

"No I don't think so."

Sofia ran her hand through Yukimi's hair. "Maybe in a few years."

"Aw. But Adrian's too noisy and Katsuo's too little."

"I think you'll be fine, Kimi. Hey, how about this. Next time I have a baby, you can help name it."

"If is a girl, her name will be Merida! A-and if is a boy, he's gonna be Merido!"

Sofia chuckled and pulled Yukimi close to her. "Whatever you say, Kimi."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't think I will ever be satisfied with this chapter, but if I spent any more time on it, it would probably be as long as the last chapter (Ch 22 - Not Again) and take me just as long to write, if not longer due to all the medicinal facts I would have to continuously research throughout the chapter.
> 
> But I'm happy enough as is so I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Well enjoyed isn't the word for this.
> 
> I had a lot of "fun" writing this chapter ? ? Idk but it really intrigued me to look this stuff up and I thought it was a great idea that not many people would think of happening. But I thought that there needed to be a little more angst before the big angst chapter i have planned (which is coming up sooner than you guys think) and a little more Takashi and Sofia because they're just so damn cute and so are their kids.
> 
> I hope you all are happy with how this chapter turned out and I hope you enjoy the plans I have for Takashi, Sofia, and their children (there will be more than 3 trust me) in the future when I post those chapters!
> 
> THANKS FOR READING AND PLEASE REVIEW!
> 
> Until next time: Chapter 24- Happy Birthday To Me
> 
> PS - "Happy Birthday To Me" will be posted on November third. No sooner. No later. (well maybe sooner if I feel like being super nice.) But it takes place on November 3rd which is my birthday . . . And also Chris's birthday. Chris's 30th birthday to be exact.
> 
> So hmmm. Food for thought: What will happen on Chris's 30th birthday? Stay tuned!


	25. Happy Birthday to Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This, when originally posted, was posted on my birthday (November 3rd). The author's note isn't accurate to today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to me! No really! It's my birthday! Also it is my favorite Attack on Titan character, Armin Artlert's, birthday! But more importantly, it's Chris's birthday! Chris's 30th birthday might I add.
> 
> To keep this author's note short so that I don't take away from this pretty damn long chapter (11,799 words) I will pose only one question:
> 
> Is it really a happy birthday for Chris?
> 
> So without further ado, I give you chapter whatever the hell number this is

_25 October, 2020_

"Hikaru put the damn drink down. You don't need any more alcohol in your system."

Hikaru looked over at his boyfriend and scoffed. "Oh come on, Chris. I'm not doing any harm."

Chris sighed and took the drink from his boyfriend's hand. "You're supposed to be getting better with this. It's been five years for fuck's sake."

"Chris, calm down. I'm not drinking because I'm depressed or anything. I'm drinking because I'm in a good mood. No need to be a buzzkill."

"What could be so great to put you in a mood 'good enough to drink'?"

Hikaru grabbed another drink and plopped down on the couch, smiling. "Six days until Halloween!"

Chris got up, walked to the open kitchen around the corner, and dumped the drink in the drain, projecting his voice so that Hikaru could still hear him. "Aren't you a little too old to be excited about Halloween."

"You're never too old to go all out for Halloween."

Chris sighed again and walked back into the living room. "You're thirty-one, Hikaru."

"And?"

"Whatever. Be excited about this if you want. I'm not stopping you. Just don't drink that much, okay?"

Chris, instead of sitting on the couch next to his boyfriend, walked out of the living room and made his way to their bedroom.

From the living room, Hikaru shouted back to Chris. "Hey, are you alright? You seem upset about something."

Chris waved him off as he walked down the hall. "Everything's wonderful. Don't worry about it."

Once Chris got to the bedroom, he closed the door behind him and pulled out his phone. He went to his most recent calls and clicked on the top name: Natalia.

_"Hey Chris! What's up?"_

"Hey Nat . . . I know it's early over there but I was just wondering if I could ask you for a favor."

_"It's alright, Bella wanted to get up early today. And it depends on the favor. I can't really do too much since I live in Italy and you live in California."_

"That's the thing actually. I have a feeling that I'll be moving out soon so I was wondering if I could come back home to Italy and stay with you guys until I find my own place."

_"Oh my God, Chris. You don't really think-"_

"Nat, I'm turning thirty in nine days and he hasn't proposed in two months."

_"Wait . . . So he's already proposed before?"_

"Well yeah but I thought I'd give him a taste of his own medicine and say no for a while. And all of his proposals have been complete shit so I'm not taking him seriously until he takes this seriously."

_"Do you think he forgot about it?"_

"Oh yeah. Without a doubt. All he keeps going on about is Halloween."

_"Yeah Kaoru told me that the two of them have always gone all out for Halloween."_

"But it's ridiculous . . . Anyways, if nothing happens is it alright if I stay with you guys?"

_"Yeah of course hun! You're always welcome to stay here!"_

"Thanks Nat. I'll let you know when it gets closer to my birthday, okay?"

_"Alright Chris. I hope everything works out."_

The call was over.

About five minutes later, after Chris had changed and gotten ready for bed, Hikaru walked into the bedroom.

"Oh you're already going to bed? It's pretty early . . . It's only eight."

Chris ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "Yeah . . . I'm just really tired. It's been a long day."

"But you didn't have to work today."

"Yeah I know. I'm just tired."

Hikaru walked over to his side of the bed and sat down. "Chris, are you sure nothing's wrong? You seem really upset about something."

"It's nothing."

Hikaru got up from the bed and went to change as well. "Alright. If you say so."

"Happy Halloween week . . ." Chris mumbled as he got into bed and went to sleep.

"What was that?"

"Goodnight."

"Oh. Yeah. Goodnight."

* * *

_29 October 2020_

"So you really find it necessary to go all out for Halloween? Even though you're thirty-one years old and you have no children to take trick-or-treating?"

"Absolutely! Do you have something against Halloween or . . .?"

"No, of course not! I love Halloween. It's my favorite holiday. I just don't see a need in going all out for it."

"Well now you do!"

"Why haven't you freaked out about Halloween this much in the five years we've been together?"

Hikaru shrugged. "I dunno. I guess we've just never had the time before now. Usually we're somewhere else for Halloween or you have to work but this year there's nothing going on so . . ."

"Yeah . . . Absolutely nothing going on."

Hikaru looked up from what he was doing quickly. "Wait no. There is something going on today at least."

"What?"

"Today's Sofia's thirtieth birthday. I feel like we should send her something. I mean she may not like me but she likes you so maybe if we send her something she won't want to strangle me every time I see her."

"You seriously remembered Sofia's birthday?" Chris looked over at Hikaru with a look of annoyed amazement plastered on his face.

"Yeah. Why are you surprised?"

Chris sighed and grabbed a drink from the case on the table in front of the two. "No reason."

Chris then pulled out his phone and texted Natalia.

**3:26pm Chris – Your house is looking more like home by the second . . .**

**3:26pm Nat – What did he do this time?**

**3:28pm Chris – He's Hikaru . . . That's what.**

**3:29pm Nat – Chris really. What did he do**

**3:30pm Chris – He remembered that today is Sofia's 30** **th** **bday . . . but still no signs of remembering mine.**

**3:32pm Nat – You've gotta be fucking kidding me**

**3:35pm Chris – I speak only the truth. Gotta go. I'll txt you later when I book my flight.**

**3:36pm Nat – Alright. Try to be more optimistic hun. Maybe he's just playing dumb ? Ttyl.**

* * *

_31 October 2020 – Halloween_

"Are you not dressing up?"

Chris, without looking away from his laptop screen, spoke up. "No. I didn't really pick out a costume."

"Well I have plenty and I'm pretty sure most of them would fit you."

Chris shrugged his boyfriend's suggestion off. "I'm alright. Thanks though. I think I'll just stay here and finish up what I'm doing."

"What are you doing?" Hikaru walked over to where Chris was and looked at the laptop, seeing the flight prices pulled up. "Why are you looking up flights back to Italy?"

"I'm feeling a bit homesick," he lied, "and I thought it would be nice to visit my mom. And Nat, Kaoru, and Bella of course."

Hikaru looked at Chris, confused. "Is this why you've been upset all week? Because you're homesick?"

"Not really. I have a different reason for being so upset. But it's nothing so don't worry about it."

"You know you keep telling me to not worry about it, but that just makes it harder to not worry about. Especially when you've been getting progressively more upset every day."

"It's nothing."

Hikaru sighed and walked out of the room. "Okay. Fine. Whatever."

Chris mumbled and clicked on his flight time. "Happy Halloween."

* * *

_3 November 2020 – Chris's thirtieth birthday . . ._

**8:10am Chris – My flight is at ten so I should be there around 4am if that's okay with you guys.**

**8:12am Nat – Yeah hun that's fine with me. I'll pick you up from the airport no problem.**

**8:13am Chris – Alright. Thanks again Nat. I'll text you when my flight lands.**

**8:13am Nat – Alright. And Chris?**

**8:15am Chris – Yeah?**

**8:16am Nat – I'm sorry . . .**

**8:20am Chris – It's alright . . . I'll be fine.**

Hikaru woke up on November third to an empty bed. He looked over and saw that Chris's side of the bed was neatly made and his night table was completely cleared off. Hikaru rubbed his eyes as he heard movement coming from the bathroom. He sat up and saw two large suitcases and a duffel bag near the bedroom door.

Chris walked out of the bathroom carrying a backpack filled with all of his hygienic items and whatnot. He looked over and saw Hikaru sitting up in bed and looking very confused.

"You're up earlier than I thought you'd be."

"What time is it?"

"Eight thirty."

Hikaru rubbed his eyes again and went back to staring at the suitcases and duffel bag. "What the hell is all that?"

"My stuff. Well most of it. I'm leaving some of it here because I don't think I need the rest."

"Why is all of your stuff in suitcases?"

"I'm going back to Italy."

"You need all of your stuff just for a trip to Italy?"

Chris sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "No I don't think you get it, Hikaru. It's not gonna be a 'trip.' I'm moving back to Italy."

Hikaru got out of bed at this point. "What the fuck?! Why?!"

"Hikaru . . . What's today's date?"

The older twin picked up his phone and looked at it. "November third. Why?"

Chris sighed and walked over to his bags. "What year is it?"

"What kind of question is-"

"What. Year. Is. It. Hikaru?"

"Two thousand twenty."

"So you're telling me that today is November third in the year two thousand twenty, correct?"

"Chris what the hell does this has to do with you leaving!?"

Chris snapped and turned back to Hikaru. "We made a fucking deal, Hikaru! Your two years is up! Happy fucking thirtieth birthday to me! My gift is that I'm single again!"

He put the backpack on and slung the duffel bag over one shoulder and pulled on the rolling suitcases with each of his hands before walking out of the room.

Hikaru stood frozen in silence for a moment.

_Holy shit. Holy shit. This is actually happening. He's leaving. He's actually leaving. Holy shit._

"Chris wait!"

Chris ignored his now ex-boyfriend and walked to the front door.

"Chris where are you going?!"

"Hikaru I already told you. I'm going back to Italy. I'm going to stay with your brother and Nat until I get my own place."

"How the hell are you gonna get there?"

"I have a flight at ten dumbass."

"No I mean the airport."

"I'm taking a cab. So yeah you get to keep the car. I won't need it in Italy."

"Why are you leaving?" Hikaru sounded more hurt than angry at this point.

Chris laughed angrily; he was infuriated at this entire situation. "Why am I leaving? Let me lay this out for you, Hikaru. Not only did you forget my fucking birthday, I could care less about that, but you forgot the one birthday that you weren't supposed to forget. The one that mattered to me, no - to US, the most. But apparently it didn't really matter to US the most because then you would've fucking remembered it. We made a deal. You promised me, Hikaru. You fucking promised. And I am a man of my word so now . . . I'm gone. We're done."

Hikaru was at a complete loss of words. "Chris . . . Please . . ."

Chris turned back around and walked out the door. "I'll tell your brother you say hi."

"Wait!"

Chris stopped in his tracks. "What, Hikaru?"

"Please just stay a little bit longer . . . Let me at least take you out to dinner for your birthday."

"I have a flight to catch."

"Fine then breakfast. You'll be at the airport by ten."

"My flight is at ten, Hikaru."

"I'll get you a different flight. And first class. Just please . . . Stay a little bit longer."

"Fine. But only until noon at the latest."

"That's all I'm asking."

* * *

"So where are we going for breakfast?"

"You'll see."

Chris sat in the passenger seat of Hikaru's car with his arms crossed and a sad expression on his face.

After about fifteen minutes of driving, Chris noticed where they were. "Why the hell are we at the aquarium? You told me you were taking me to breakfast."

"You told me you would stay until noon. I have to make the best out of the time I have."

"Hikaru, I don't have the patience for this."

"You said you're a man of your word, so stay till noon."

"Fine."

After about five minutes, they were parked and in line to get into the aquarium.

"There are so many small children here." Chris stood in line with Hikaru with on hand rubbing his temples.

"I thought you liked kids."

"Not when I'm in a bad mood and their screaming their vocal chords to shreds because they want to see a fucking penguin."

Hikaru sighed and handed Chris his ticket. "Come on. You'll calm down once you're inside."

Chris sighed and watched the fish swim in the panoramic tank in front of him. He was a lot calmer than he was before; the aquarium always had that effect on him. "What exactly are you trying to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I just broke up with you and packed my bags. I only told you I'm staying for three more hours . . . Well now two. So what exactly are you trying to do by taking me to the aquarium? What do you think it'll accomplish."

"Well of course I want to try and win you back . . . But if I can't do that . . . I want to at least take you to your favorite place on your birthday."

Chris looked over at Hikaru and gave him a sad smile. "Thank you . . ."

Hikaru turned to Chris and spoke up. "Are you actually hungry?"

"A bit. I was planning on eating while I waited for my flight. Why?"

Hikaru smiled and walked out of the exhibit, gesturing for Chris to follow. "Just follow me."

Chris followed Hikaru into the main lobby of the aquarium and then to a door with a sign on it that read "Employees Only"

"Hikaru, where the hell are we going? Last time I checked, you don't work here."

"I don't. But I know the owner so it's fine. . . Well I have connections. Connections as in Kyoya. As you've probably learned through these years, Kyoya knows pretty much everyone."

"You didn't answer my question."

Hikaru laughed and continued walking down the small hallway until they got to a flight of spiral stairs. "Just trust me on this, okay?"

The two climbed the spiral staircase for what seemed like an eternity until they got to a small room. Hikaru walked to the end of the small room and opened a door that was in front of him.

"Why are we on the roof?"

"Oh come on, Chris! Look at this view! You can see the entire Pacific Ocean from here. You can't tell me this isn't beautiful."

"I never said it wasn't beautiful, Hikaru. I just asked why we are up here."

Hikaru walked to the other side of the roof, revealing a quaint but beautiful set up of a small tale set for two. It was decorated with a plain white table cloth and two covered plates. "You said you were hungry, so I set up some breakfast for us."

Without looking away from the table, Chris questioned the twin. "When did you-"

"When you were in the bathroom earlier I called it in. I pulled some strings to get this set up because I thought you'd like it."

Chris sighed. "It is nice." He looked over at Hikaru. "But I kinda see what you're trying to do."

"I already told you what I'm trying to do, Chris."

"No . . . I mean like . . . I guess how you're trying to do it."

"What are you talking about?"

Chris laughed and walked over to the table and sat down. "The aquarium, the employee access, the fancy dinner with a great ocean view . . . I guess you actually did pay attention to some parts of our relationship."

"Wha-"

"My favorite romantic comedy. Well probably one of the only sappy movies I'll watch. Besides Disney movies of course. 50 First Dates. I honestly didn't expect you to actually pay attention to that movie at all. I must say I'm kind of impressed."

Hikaru walked over to the table and sat down across from Christian. "So it's working?"

Chris shifted in his seat and frowned again. "Hikaru . . ."

"It's not, is it?" Hikaru sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I've made up my mind, Hikaru. I'm going back to Italy. I'm sorry but I'm not staying. I already explained my reasoning for this two years ago so I would hope you would have either understood this more than you do now or maybe prevented it, ya know?"

"I get it Chris . . . I fucked up, big time."

"See, I don't think you do get it, though."

"What the hell do you mean I don't get it?"

Chris sighed and rubbed his hand over his face before explaining. "Okay so I know I may seem like a bitchy girlfriend because of this whole 'marriage' thing . . . I'm pretty much living up the gay guy stereotype by taking on the personality of a woman, at least what women are like from men's eyes . . . But I am in no way demanding. I work to earn a living. Even though you never wanted me to, I help pay the bills. I never really ask for anything for any kind of holiday or birthday. I'm not super clingy. I don't give a shit if you go out and have a good time, as long as you don't get trashed, but only because you're an alcoholic . . . I don't ask for much. I just like being in a relationship with you. Even though I may not like all of the things you do, I like everything about you. So when I made this 'ultimatum' so-to-speak, I only made it because I thought we were ready for it. I thought _you_ were ready for it. But I guess I was wrong. It's not that you fucked up . . . You forgot, I get it. And you know what . . . I can't really hate you for that. People forget things. Shit happens. What you don't get is that if you were really interested in actually marrying me, you would have made it happen when you had the chance, not because you ran out of time."

"No . . . You know what I don't get? I don't have the slightest understanding as to why you didn't say yes to me when I proposed to you the first time. Or the second time. Or even the third time. Three fucking times-"

"Seven times."

"What?"

"You're asking why I said no those three times you proposed, but you don't realize that I can ask the same question about the seven times I proposed to you."

Hikaru looked down at his lap. "Chris you know I wasn't ready."

"Bullshit."

"Oh com-"

"That's complete fucking bullshit. I proposed to you seven fucking times, Hikaru. From March of last year to March of this year. For a year straight, every other month I proposed to you. Every time you said the same thing: 'I'm not ready yet.' And I say it's bullshit that you think you can get mad at me for saying no three times."

"I wasn't ready when you proposed! That's why I proposed when I did! I was ready then!"

"No, you were just running out of time."

Hikaru went silent. He knew Chris was right.

"What about your job. You can't just leave that behind."

"I quit."

"You what?"

"I quit. The reason I didn't have to go into work all last week was because I quit."

Hikaru didn't know what to say. He just went silent again.

Chris stood up from his chair. "So are you taking me to the airport or do I have to call a cab?"

Hikaru stood up and walked over to Chris and silently pulled him into a tight embrace. His voice was shaking as he spoke. "P-please don't leave me. Don't leave me like everyone else has."

Christian refused to hug him back. "None of us left, Hikaru. You pushed us away."

Hikaru let go of Chris and fumbled to pull a ring out of his pocket. "Please. Just take this. Marry me, Chris. I'll buy you your own restaurant to start up. Or if you don't want to do that I'll buy you something else. I'll do anything, Chris. I'm begging you. I'm begging you please marry me. Please stay with me."

"So now you're gonna bribe me to stay with you?"

"Well I don't have many fucking options at this point, now do I?"

Chris moved away from Hikaru and started walking back towards the door to lead inside. "I guess I'll take a cab then."

"You can't do this! You can't leave! We only have each other. . ." The pain in Hikaru's voice was unbearable for Chris to hear.

Chris stopped in his tracks and spoke soft but rough. "You think I want to do this?"

"W-what?"

Chris turned around and glared at Hikaru. He was fighting back tears well enough but the pain was now audible in his voice just as it was in Hikaru's. "Do you really think I want to do this?!"

"If you don't want to do it, then why the fuck are you!?"

"I love you, Hikaru. I really do. I didn't think it was possible to love you as much as I do. I don't want to do this at all! I want to forget this day ever happened and just get married. But I can't. I can't just push this aside because YOU'RE NOT READY! You're such a fucking child, Hikaru. Maybe if you grew up I'd stay. You wanna know why I'm doing this? Because I HAVE TO. I'm ready to grow up. I'm ready to grow old. I'm ready to grow old WITH YOU. But you're still stuck in high school. You can't talk about your feelings because you're a little high school baby that can't handle any kind of emotions other than happy and angry. Grow up, Hikaru. Accept the fact that we are adults now. Stop blaming the world for how you feel and take responsibility for your actions. Maybe then I'll consider marrying you. Until then, have fun in your ridiculous mansion."

And with that, he was back inside and on his way out of the aquarium. Hikaru looked back at the ring he was still holding and threw it angrily off of the rooftop. Tears were now in his eyes at this point. He looked back at the table and then walked back inside the aquarium.

"I- I think I need a drink . . ."

* * *

"I'm fine, Nat."

"Are you sure? I just want to make sure you're-"

Christian smiled at his best friend and laughed. "I said I'm fine, Nat. You don't have to keep worrying about me."

Natalia sighed and leaned against her countertop as Chris cooked for them. Despite being a guest in Natalia and Kaoru's house, Chris always cooked for them whenever he was there, but only because he wanted to. "But it's only been a day, Chris. How can you bounce back that quickly?"

Chris let out a small sigh. "I haven't really bounced back yet, Nat. I just . . . I dunno. I'm honestly dealing with this better than I thought I would be able to. I guess I'm just seeing it as a turning point in my life. I'm going to be completely honest when I say that I was under the impression that Hikaru and I were going to spend our lives together. We just . . . We worked, you know? But I guess some things just aren't meant to be . . . So what can you do?"

Natalia followed behind Chris as he moved about the large kitchen and cleaned up everything once he was done with it. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about. I already talked about it all with you and Kaoru."

"Well why not talking about it to someone else?"

"Like who? Who else would I talk to other than my best friend?"

"Your other best friend."

Chris turned back to Natalia as he waited for something to finish cooking. "And who might that be?"

Nat leaned against the island across from Chris and shrugged. "I was thinking maybe you could talk about this to Sofia. You two seem to be pretty good friends and maybe she could talk some sense into Hikaru. He does kind of admire her in a way, right?"

Chris's expression went dark with annoyance as he turned around to finish cooking. "There's no sense that can be talked into Hikaru. He's hopeless."

"He's never been hopeless. Just difficult. Trust me."

Kaoru walked into the kitchen and leaned on the doorway.

"I know this entire situation was a really dumb move, even for him . . . But . . . I know for a fact that he still wants to be with you. He just needs some sense talked into him so he can fix it."

"Kaoru, you're just saying that because he's your brother."

Kaoru walked into the kitchen further and leaned against the counter next to his wife. "Actually, I'm not. I'll be the first to admit when Hikaru's done something he shouldn't have. Not to his face, but still. We're twins. We may not have the same personality, but we know each other. We know how each other feels and why they're feeling it. I in no way agree with how he's acting or how he's acted since we graduated college but I understand where his mind is. He wants to marry you, Chris. I know he does. He just needs some outside help to realize how much he's actually ready for it. He's never been good at anything involving feelings. Whether they're his or anyone else's."

There was silence between the three for a few moments before Chris spoke up again.

"So do you really think I should call Sofia and ask her for advice?"

Natalia nodded and smiled. "I feel like she'll know exactly what to do. And she likes you so at the very least she'll get pissed off at Hikaru and literally smack some sense into him."

"Alright. I think I'll call her after we eat. Is Bella up yet?"

Kaoru stopped leaning on the counter and moved to leave the kitchen. "I'll get her up now."

"Alright, Chris and I will set the table."

* * *

_4:12 am. Tokyo, Japan._

_Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz._

Sofia groaned into her pillow and moved her hand without looking to pick up her ringing phone. Once she finally had a hold of her phone, she slid her thumb across the screen, still without looking, and held it to her face.

"Someone better be dead."

_"What? No -Oh-Shit. I forgot about the time differences. Sorry Sofia. It's Chris. I can call you back later if you want me to."_

Sofia sat up and rubbed her tired eyes. This must be important because even though she and Chris were friends, they never called each other unless they really needed to. They usually texted. "No. It's fine. I'm awake. What's up with you? Why'd you call instead of texting me?"

 _"Well I actually wanted to talk to you about something important."_ She knew it _. "I wanted you're advice on something."_

"Okay shoot. What's the topic?"

As Chris spoke on the other line, Sofia's eyes widened. "Wait he did what?!"

Sofia moved her arm and started hitting Takashi to try and wake him up as she listened to Chris speak.

"Takashi, wake up!"

He just turned on his other side so that his back was to his wife.

Sofia continued listening to Chris explain the situation. "Who the fuck does he think he is?! I'm going to strangle that man."

She looked over at her husband again and pushed his back. "Takashi come on wake up! I need your help with this."

Takashi just shifted a bit once more and continued to ignore Sofia.

"Hey Chris hold on a second."

She cupped her hand over the speaker and turned to face Takashi. "Takashi. Hun. I think something's wrong with Katsuo."

As soon as Sofia mentioned their youngest child, Takashi sat up in bed. "What's wrong with him?"

Sofia scoffed and smacked her husband's arm. "Nothing. He's fine. I just needed you to wake the fuck up." She paused for a moment before explaining herself. "I'm on the phone with Chris and he needs my advice but I'm not sure what to say other than how much I want to strangle Hikaru."

Takashi yawned and stretched before turning to Sofia. "What happened?"

"Hikaru and Chris broke up."

Takashi sat there for a moment and then looked back at Sofia. "Why?"

"Because Hikaru's a fucking dumbass that forgot the entire 'marriage' deal they made and Chris's thirtieth birthday."

Takashi moved in close to Sofia and leaned against her. "Oh well I'm sure they'll work it out."

"Takashi, they were together for five years and were supposed to get married. Now Chris is in Italy living with Nat and Kaoru and Hikaru's probably relapsing into alcoholism in LA."

He moved in even closer and wrapped his arms around Sofia's waist and began lightly kissing her neck.

"Why doesn't Chris just propose to Hikaru?"

Sofia pushed Takashi away and spoke into the phone once more. "Chris, how many times did you say you proposed to Hikaru?"

After a short pause, Sofia looked back at her husband. "Seven times. Takashi. He proposed seven times."

Takashi sighed and moved back to kissing at Sofia's neck. Not only was he a flirty drunk, but he was flirty when he was tired too. "Do you have to talk about this now?"

"Takashi stop this is serious."

Takashi continued to kiss Sofia and spoke in between said kisses. "Just tell him we'll take care of it. I have an idea. We'll just get Kyoya involved tomorrow. "

"Chris apparently Takashi has an idea. I have no idea what it is and he says he'll tell me tomorrow. I'll try to keep you updated okay? We'll take care of this don't worry. We'll smack some sense into that asshole. Alright. Yeah. Goodnight. Okay. Bye."

She looked back at Takashi and began kissing him back. "So what's this secret plan of yours?"

"Well," he spoke in between kisses, "if we get Kyoya involved we can get everyone to come back to Japan and stage kind of an intervention."

Sofia stopped kissing her husband and pulled away for a second. "That's actually a really good idea. But we can't tell Natalia, Kaoru, or Chris."

"No, of course not." He closed the gap between the two once more. "Now can we talk about this tomorrow instead?"

Sofia showed her answer rather than speaking it when she moved in and kissed her husband, once more and smirking against his lips.

* * *

" _But do you even think he's going to listen to us?"_

"He won't have a choice, Haruhi."

_"There's always a choice, Sofia."_

"Sam, there isn't much of a choice when you have your eight closest friends telling you to get your shit together."

_"Well I mean he hasn't really been the best friend . . ."_

"That's why we're doing this Tamaki."

_"I think this is what's best for Hika-chan. He needs to get better and turn things around."_

"Exactly, Mitsukuni. That's why Takashi came up with this idea. Now it's time to actually put the plan into action."

_"So all of us need to come over to Japan?"_

"Well, I figured that would be easiest, Haruhi. All of us involved but you and Tamaki live in Japan so it only makes sense."

_"But do we really have to 'kidnap' him? Can't we just ask him to come over here? It seems a bit excessive."_

"Yes we have to. There is no way he would ever agree to fly all the way here just to, as he would probably say, 'be nagged and yelled at by all of us.' And that's where your husband comes in, Sam. Kyoya? Are you still there?"

_"I'm listening."_

Sofia took a breath before explaining the plan fully. "Okay so the only way this'll work is if we are able to get Hikaru to Japan. Like I said, he would never willingly come all the way here just to be yelled at. So, Kyoya, since we all know this kind of thing would be no problem for you, we need you to kidnap Hikaru so-to-speak. Nothing too over the top. Just like show up, tell him he's coming to Japan, and make sure he gets on the plane with you. Simple as that."

_"Sounds easy enough."_

"Okay and then once Kyoya gets Hikaru to Japan, we need to all meet up at someone's house. I don't know whose."

_Tamaki spoke up at the other line. "We can go to my dad's second estate. I mean, if Haruhi and I are coming to Japan then we'll be staying in the main estate so we can just use the second one for the meet up."_

_"But whose gonna watch the kids?" Haruhi spoke up after her husband._

_"I will." Reiko finally spoke up._

"Are you sure, Reiko? That's a lot for one person to handle. And I'm still worried about Katsuo so I don't know . . . I might stay with the kids too."

" _No, Sofia. It's alright. You and Takashi came up with this whole plan so it'd be silly if you weren't there."_

_"And quite a few servants still live in both estates so she'll have help. I can make sure that Katsuo is watched very carefully if you want."_

"Alright. I guess that'll work. So we have our plan?"

_"Well what are we all going to say?" Mitsukuni chimed in._

_"Yeah I'm not sure what to say to him. I mean I've known him for a few years now but still . . . I'm not as close to him as you all are." Sam spoke up._

"Well in all honesty, I'm kind of on the same boat as you, Sam. I mean I've known him a little longer but when I first met everyone else, he was locking himself away in his fancy penthouse getting drunk all the time. But I think it'll be better if especially the two of us are there because he needs to hear it from someone with at least less bias than the others."

_"Alright. I'll think of something while Kyoya's gone."_

_"So we're all meeting up at my second estate on Friday, correct?"_

"Yep. That's the plan. We'll meet up as soon as Kyoya gets back with Hikaru. "

_"Alright. I'll leave to get him tonight so that I'll be back by Friday."_

"Alright. Operation 'Kick Hikaru's Teeth In so That He Will Wake Up from His Shitty Sob Story' is a go."

* * *

The muffled sound of his doorbell ringing is what woke him up.

It rang once. He ignored it and continued to lay face down on the couch, surrounded by bottles, cans, and glasses that were once filled with alcohol, but were now completely empty.

It rang twice. He groaned as his pounding headache from a major hangover amplified the sound tenfold. But he still ignored it.

It rang three times and before he realized that he wasn't going to be able to ignore it. "Go away." The auburn haired man shouted weakly from the couch to see if that was enough to rid of his visitor.

After the fourth ring, Hikaru finally got up off the couch and dragged himself over to the door to answer it.

He opened the door and immediately shut his eyes to avoid the blinding light of mid-morning sun. He rubbed his temples and spoke without looking at the man in front of him. "What do you want?"

"Get dressed. Well . . . You might want to take a shower before getting dressed. You're coming with me to Japan."

Hikaru recognized the voice so he opened his eyes, despite making his head pound more from the light, and looked at the black haired and glasses wearing man in front of him. "Kyoya? Wha- What the hell are you doing all the way in California?"

"I already said that, if you were even paying attention." Kyoya sighed and pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose. "You're coming back to Japan. And you really don't have a say in it so don't try to argue it. And before you ask, it wasn't my idea."

"Since when did I agree to come back to Japan? What if I don't want to go? What if I'm perfectly content where I am right now?"

"You really are bad at paying attention, aren't you? I just said you don't have a say. I was sent to take you to Japan, forcibly if I have to, by Sofia. And don't kid yourself. We all know you're miserable."

Hikaru scowled at Kyoya. "That means _he's_ gonna be there, doesn't it?" Hikaru said "he" as if it left an awful taste in his mouth.

"If by 'he' you mean Chris, then no. He's still in Italy along with your brother and his wife and child. He isn't coming to Japan. None of them are. They actually have no idea this is going on. And we plan to keep it that way."

"Who all is 'we'?"

"Everyone except for Kaoru, Natalia, and Christian. Sam and I will be there. So will Tamaki and Haruhi. And Honi. Not Reiko though. She volunteered to watch over the children. And Mori and Sofia of course. This was their plan after all."

Hikaru rubbed is hand over his face to try and grasp what was happening. "Wait a second. What even is this 'plan' you're talking about? Don't I get to know why I'm being forced to come to Japan?"

Kyoya turned his back to Hikaru and walked back to the car. "You'll find out when we get there. Now hurry up and take a shower. You smell like you've doused yourself in gasoline. I'll be waiting in the car."

* * *

"Where are we going?"

"The Suoh second estate."

"Why?"

"It's part of the plan."

"Are you gonna tell me what this plan is now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll find out in five seconds."

"One . . . Two . . . Three . . . Four . . . Five . . . Okay time's up-"

"We're here. Let's go."

Kyoya got out of the car and waited for Hikaru to follow.

Hikaru sat in his seat and stared at the building through the window. "This is a stupid intervention isn't it?"

"Hikaru, come on. Get out of the car."

"Is it an intervention, or isn't it?"

"It is."

"I'm not getting out of this damn car."

Kyoya turned and started to walk away from the vehicle. "Alright. I'll just tell Mori and Honi that and see what they think. Might as well tell Sofia too because apparently she is more than capable of handling herself in a fight."

"Don't."

"Then get out of the car."

"I can't."

"You're not crippled, so yes you can."

"What if I am crippled?"

"Alright that's it. I'm going to get them."

"Wait!"

Kyoya turned back to the car and glared angrily at Hikaru.

"Are you going to get out of the car now?"

"I really don't want to."

Kyoya walked back to the car and stared intently at Hikaru. "Do you want Chris to take you back or not?"

This got Hikaru's attention. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Now get out of the car."

Hikaru finally got up and followed Kyoya inside. Once inside, they walked into a large living area where everyone was sitting, standing, or leaning and socializing. All socialization stopped as soon as Kyoya and Hikaru walked into the room.

The silence was enough to get Hikaru to turn around and try to walk out of the room, only to see the doorway blocked by Takashi and Mitsukuni. Sofia was sitting in the center of all of the other adults and sipping coffee. She raised her eyebrows and spoke to Hikaru. "So I hear you've fucked everything up again. Relapsing and all."

Takashi spoke up from behind Hikaru. "Sofia. That's not why we're here."

Sofia sighed and put her mug down. "Alright alright. Let me start over. A little bird y . . . A very sad little Italian birdy told me some things that you've done that angered me very much so. So much that I was fully willing to fly all the way to LA just to strangle you. But, my lovely husband talked me out of it. So now we are here. We've gathered all of your closest friends, minus your brother and his wife, and we've decided to stage a sort of reality smack for you."

"Alright I can't do this. Let me go back to LA. I can't talk about this with you all."

Haruhi spoke this time instead of Sofia. "We can't let you leave, Hikaru. You need to hear this. It's for your own good."

"How the hell would all of you know what is and isn't good for me?! Where have you been for the past ten years?! You don't know what I've been through!"

Tamaki joined in. "That's exactly our point, Hikaru. You've pushed us all away for ten years. And now you've pushed away the one person that was finally helping you get better."

"Don't you dare talk to me about him."

Sofia chuckled lightly and spoke up once more. "Well maybe if the events of Tuesday hadn't happened, we wouldn't have to talk about Chris."

"Don't mention his name."

Sofia got up and walked over to Hikaru. "Christian Marcello diLazzaro. Born November 3rd 1990 in Tivoli, Italy to Alessandra and Marcello diLazzaro. He is the man you love and there is no way in hell that you're going to avoid talking about how badly you broke him."

Hikaru glared at Sofia as she walked over. "Oh I get it now. This isn't an intervention. This is just a 'have Sofia yell at Hikaru and make Hikaru feel like even more of a piece of shit than he already does' party."

"No it's not." Takashi spoke up from behind Hikaru again. "Sofia is just going a little overboard with letting things out."

"But Kashi-"

"Sofia, you need to calm down. We are here to help Hikaru. Not hurt him."

"Fine."

Kyoya finally decided to speak up. "The whole point is that we are actually trying to help. Even if we don't always get along we are all your friends and we don't want to see you ruin your life just because you refuse to grow up and face reality."

Hikaru groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. "See I don't think you all understand this right now. It's not that I refuse to grow up and face reality. I faced reality head on when Chris left. I just don't like it. I am more than capable of 'growing up' but I just . . . I don't want to. I don't want to 'grow up' if this kind of shit is going to happen."

"Hikaru this happened because you refused to grow up."

Hikaru sighed and looked around. "Can we not talk about this?" He paused for a moment. "I need a drink. Can I at least have a drink first?"

Kyoya pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose. "The last thing you need right now is a drink."

Haruhi got up and walked over to Hikaru, who seemed to fall into a panicked trance as soon as Kyoya mentioned growing up. "Hikaru. Come on. Why don't you sit down so we can actually talk about this?"

Hikaru pulled his arm away from Haruhi. "I don't want to talk about it."

Haruhi grabbed his arm again and forcibly dragged him over to the couch where Sofia was previously sitting and made him sit down. As soon as Hikaru was sitting down, he pulled his knees to his chest and refused to look at anyone directly.

Sofia looked over at the twin and sighed. "You know, Hikaru, if you act like this the entire time then we aren't gonna get anywhere."

He didn't respond.

Sofia walked over to Hikaru and bent down to get closer to him. "You do realize how much you hurt him, right?"

Hikaru looked away from Sofia and spoke quietly. "You do realize how much he hurt me, right?"

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me. You two made a deal, Hikaru! You promised him that you two would at least be engaged by his thirtieth birthday. And guess the fuck what, Hikaru! He's thirty! And single! I wonder who could've caused that!" Sofia was completely enraged by this point.

Hikaru finally looked back at Sofia and gave back what she was giving out. "I know we made a fucking deal, Sofia! I know I promised him! And you know what? Technically I lived up to that promise. I proposed three fucking times, okay!? Each time he said no! You may think that I hurt him but he fucked me up, okay?!"

Samantha, who was sitting next to her husband on one of the couches, decided to finally contribute to the conversation in hopes of calming them down. "You hurt each other."

Hikaru and Sofia both turned to face Samantha, causing her face to heat up with embarrassment due to the sudden attention. "What?" Both Hikaru and Sofia spoke at the same time.

"I-I just . . ." Sam brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and gathered her thoughts before continuing. "From what I've heard, which is both sides of the story . . . I dunno it just seems like you both hurt each other."

Hikaru was still fuming from before. "How the hell am I in the wrong?! I did exactly what he asked me to do but apparently it wasn't good enough for him. And that's supposed to by my fault?!"

Kyoya spoke up. "Hikaru, calm down. Sam has a point."

"No she doesn't! None of you have any points right now! This is just a 'gang up on Hikaru' meeting! None of you know what you're talking about so why don't you just stay the fuck out of it!" Hikaru stood up by this point and started shouting at everyone in the room, looking around at all of their faces.

Kyoya stood up as well, holding out his hand to help Samantha up. "Alright. If you're going to respond like this then there isn't any point in even trying. We were just trying to help you, Hikaru." He turned to face Samantha. "Come on, Sam. Let's get the kids and go home."

"Help me?! You!? What the hell would you know about fixing my love life! All your love life consists of is knocking up some random bitch, getting married a month later, and calling it love."

The next few seconds happened in a blur. Hikaru realized what he had just said and his eyes widened in fear of the consequence. A look of deep hurt washed over Samantha's face as she was insulted. Tamaki stood up, ready to defend his best friends, but was held back by Haruhi. The other three in the room, Takashi, Sofia, and Mitsukuni, stood frozen in utter shock at what had just been said.

Kyoya, who was still with his back facing Hikaru, clenched his fists as his expression darkened. A second or two after registering what Hikaru had just said to him, Kyoya turned around and, without giving Hikaru a split second to think, brought his fist to meet Hikaru's face with enough force to cause a faint cracking noise to be heard as Hikaru stumbled backwards. But before Hikaru could fall back, Kyoya grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulling his face close to his.

"You don't have a goddamn right to open your fucking mouth anymore! Just shut the fuck up and listen or else I'll break more than just your nose. We are trying to help you! My love life shouldn't matter at all to you right now. And you may not agree with how Sam and I got together but at least we have what you don't: happiness. I don't know if you've noticed, but everyone in this room is in a stable relationship and happily married. Everyone except you. So maybe you should shut your ungrateful mouth and listen to what we have to say if you want Chris, who you don't even deserve, back."

Kyoya let go of Hikaru, causing him to fall back onto the couch, and stormed out of the room. "Someone clean him up. I'll be back in a minute."

Samantha ran after her husband as he left the room. "Kyoya wait!"

* * *

About ten minutes later, Hikaru had ice and a paper towel held up to his bloody broken nose and bruised eye. "I'm gonna be honest, Kyoya . . . I didn't know you can punch that hard."

Kyoya, who was back in the room sitting next to Sam on the couch adjacent to the one Hikaru was sitting on, was holding ice to his knuckles. "Neither did I . . ."

Now that everyone was settled and sitting down, Mitsukuni finally decided to speak at the intervention. "So now that everyone let everything out . . . Are we ready to actually talk about this?"

Hikaru sighed and looked down at his lap. "I guess so."

Haruhi looked over at Hikaru and spoke up. "So the three times you proposed to him weren't good enough? What do you mean by that?"

"Well . . . He like . . . I mean I kinda promised . . . Lemme start over. Okay so when we made the whole deal thing, he also made me promised that it wouldn't be half-assed. He's not a super fancy person so he wanted the proposal to be really fancy. He wanted it to be something he wouldn't forget and that I would have put a lot of time and money into. And like I put a fair amount of time and money into the three times I proposed but apparently that wasn't enough."

Tamaki joined in. "Well how many times did he propose to you?"

Hikaru avoided everyone's gaze and stayed silent.

Kyoya looked over at him. "Hikaru, how many times?"

"Sofia probably knows . . ."

Sofia looked over at him and scowled. "You're really gonna make me say it."

He stayed silent. Sofia sighed and looked at the rest of the group. "Chris proposed to Hikaru seven times. Every other month for a year straight."

The group, minus Sofia, Takashi, and Hikaru, all gasped.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Sam spoke up.

"Hika-chan you said no seven times?" Mitsukuni joined in.

Tamaki's eyes widened in amazement. "No wonder he expected more."

Kyoya joined in as well. "Seven times is a bit much though."

Haruhi was the last to speak. "I can't believe you said no to him for a year straight and then only proposed three half-assed times . . ."

Hikaru glared at Haruhi. "They weren't half-assed, Haruhi. They just weren't as grand as he wanted them to be."

Takashi spoke up this time. "That's irrelevant now. What we need to know is if you actually want to marry him. And if you are ready to make that commitment."

"Of course I want to marry him. And like . . . I mean . . . I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I want what you all have . . . Well maybe not the kids . . . But I want to be happy with him like we were before. You guys are right. I need your help."

Sam clapped her hands together and laughed. "So we get to help come up with a fancy proposal?"

Kyoya looked over at his wife. "Yeah. I guess. Why are you so excited?"

Samantha sighed. "Well it's not like I got a fancy proposal from you. Don't get me wrong, it was still very sweet, but fancy proposals are really fun to at least watch! And now we get to help plan one! That's fantastic!"

Mitsukuni spoke up once more. "Well first we need to know what kind of 'big proposal' Chris wants. Like what does he really like that would make this really special to him?"

Hikaru sat in thought for a moment. "Well . . . He's a total history nerd. He loves historical dates and places . . . So maybe if it was on a specific date at some fancy place in Italy he'd like it."

"November 11th." Kyoya spoke up.

"What?"

"November 11th is a historical date. It's the day the armistice was signed to end World War I."

Hikaru looked over at Kyoya. "But if I propose then, it only gives me three days."

Sofia laughed. "Oh honey that's no problem. We have the rest of today to come up with the idea. All of tomorrow to plan and set everything up. And then we fly you over to Italy on Tuesday so you'll be ready to propose on Wednesday."

Haruhi joined in. "But where is he gonna propose? We have the historical date, but what about the historical place?"

Sam looked over at Haruhi. "Well there are plenty of places in and near Rome that would work. The Colosseum , the Trevi Fountain, Saint Peter's Basilica, The National Roman Museum-"

Hikaru looked over at Sam. "That's it!"

"What?"

"The National Roman Museum. He loves museums. His favorite places are museums and aquariums. So that museum would be the perfect place to do it."

Sofia leaned forward and clapped her hands together. "Alright. Now we're getting somewhere. So let's get to the details now."

* * *

_11 November 2020 - 9:15pm_

**_Group MMS_ **

**Hikaru- Guys I can't do this.**

**Kyoya- Yes you can. I'm not having you waist me taking you all the way to Italy.**

**Hikaru- It's not like neither of us can afford it . . .**

**Haruhi – Hikaru you can do this. Trust me. The plan is foolproof.**

**Sofia – Yeah and if you screw it up, I'm not gonna hesitate to strangle you this time.**

**Hikaru – wow thanks. That really makes me feel better about this, Sofia.**

**Kyoya – if you want it to happen by the time we have planned then you have to do it now. So suck it up and go.**

**Hikaru- But what if he says no**

**Haruhi – I honestly don't think he'll say no to this**

**Sofia – Yeah I think we planned this out really well. I feel like he'll only say no if you mess it up. No pressure**

**Hikaru – again, thanks for making me feel so much better about this sofia**

**Sofia – anytime**

**Kyoya – you do realize how much time you're wasting right now, right?**

**Hikaru – shit- yeah . . . wait so are you still doing the first part of the plan?**

**Kyoya – I already did. I sent him the pass yesterday and Kaoru texted me asking about it today so he should be there in about 20minutes**

**Kyoya – well now 10 minutes**

**Hikaru – shit I need to hurry up then**

**Haruhi – well how long does it take to get there**

**Hikaru – no idea**

**Sofia – where even are you. You should already be there**

**Hikaru – uhmmm. Well right now I don't know. I was just wandering around places. Sightseeing.**

**Sofia – Are you serious**

**Haruhi – dammit Hikaru. You've gotta be kidding me**

**Hikaru – WAIT! I found it. I was right around the corner from it.**

**Haruhi – thank god**

**Hikaru – Alright .So like . . . I guess I have to do this now**

**Kyoya – technically you don't have to**

**Sofia – Hikaru just shut up and go propose to him. Text us back when he says yes**

* * *

_11 November 2020 - 9:45pm_

"I haven't been here in so long. The only time I ever had the chance to come here was once when I was a kid."

"But you grew up here, so why'd you only go once?"

"Well my parents weren't very wealthy and they split up when I was fairly young . . . So the only time I got to go is when Natalia and her parents took me for my sixteenth birthday."

"Oh. Well that was very nice of them."

"Yeah. Yeah it was."

Silence fell between to two as they sat in the courtyard garden at the National Roman Museum.

**Hikaru – I cant . . .**

**Haruhi – what do you mean you cant**

**Hikaru – he wont say yes**

**Sofia – what the hell are you talking about of course he will**

**Hikaru – Kyoya how many passes did you give him**

**Kyoya – One why**

**Hikaru – this doesn't make any sense**

**Sofia – Hikaru whats going on**

**Haruhi – what happened did something happen**

**Hikaru – I cant do this. Im going home. The plan isn't gonna work theres no point in trying**

**Sofia – like hell you are! You are going through with the plan Hikaru end of story**

**Hikaru – yeah end of story. This story is over.**

**Kyoya – are you going to tell us what happened or are you going to make us guess? I really hate guessing games, Hikaru.**

**Hikaru – he's with someone else okay. Some other guy.**

**Haruhi – wait what**

**Sofia – what no**

**Kyoya – well that's a problem**

**Hikaru – no fucking shit that's a problem**

**Haruhi – well maybe he's just a friend**

**Hikaru – yeah sure**

**Sofia – Hikaru trust me. He cant move on that fast. Trust me.**

**Kyoya – yeah it seems a bit fast for him to move on from a five year relationship**

**Hikaru – well apparently it wasn't too fast for him**

**Sofia – just go talk to him**

**Hikaru –no im going home**

**Sofia – if you go home I will fucking murder you**

**Haruhi – sofia calm down**

**Hikaru – thanks haruhi**

**Haruhi – but I kinda agree with sofia. You need to talk to him**

**Kyoya – if you don't talk to him you owe me a lot of money**

**Hikaru – some things never change Kyoya**

**Sofia – just go fucking talk to him.**

**Hikaru – whatever. Fine. Bye.**

"So who did you say got you your pass?"

Chris looked over at the other man. "My bo-" He hesitated for a moment. "My ex-boyfriend's friend. Who is actually my friend now too. So a friend. I just met him through my . . . ex."

"Are you alright? You seemed to get upset when you mentioned your ex."

Christian sighed. "Yeah I guess so. I just . . . We were together for five years. It still hurts, ya know?"

"Yeah. I understand."

Just then a voice could be heard from a figure that was standing and leaning against a railing next to where the two men were sitting. "It's pretty hard to get over a relationship that you thought was going to last forever, isn't it?"

"Wait, I know that voice." Chris sat up and turned to face the man standing next to him. "Wha- Hikaru. What the hell are you doing here?!"

Hikaru looked at his hands as he leaned over the balcony and sighed. "I mean my brother does live here. Last time I checked, his house is your current residence. "

Chris stood up and sighed. "I know you aren't visiting Kaoru . . . Why are you really here, Hikaru?"

Hikaru let out a tired laugh. "Well I think you can figure that out well enough." He still had his back to Chris. "But I guess I'm too late for that. Apparently you only need a week to move on from a relationship that lasted over five years."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Without turning to face Christian, Hikaru continued to speak. "So who's your friend?"

The other man, who was still seated on the bench, sat up completely and looked over at Hikaru and Chris. He then stood up and walked over to the two and smiled.

"Hikaru, this is my friend Luca. He's a friend that Nat and I went to college with. A _friend._ "

Hikaru still refused to turn around and look at Chris. "It's nice to meet you, Luca."

Chris turned to Luca. "This is my ex-boyfriend, Hikaru." Hikaru tensed at that statement. "The one I told you about."

Hikaru sighed and started to walk away, still not turning to face Chris. "Well it was good talking to you again, I guess. I'm gonna go now before I intrude on any more of this."

"You can't be serious right now."

As Hikaru spoke, the struggle to maintain his composure became more audible. "I'm just gonna go."

"Hikaru, where are you going?"

"I just said that, Chris."

"Are you really going back to LA, or are you going to some random bar to get drunk?"

Hikaru stopped walking and let out a sad laugh. "You know me so well. I'm starting to think that maybe we dated for a long time or something . . ." With that he continued walking away.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!? Are you telling me that these past five years didn't exist?"

"Apparently they didn't to you." He stopped again, still not turning to face Christian. "Apparently you've already moved on . . . and quite easily at that."

"Wait . . ." Chris looked back to Luca and then back to Hikaru. "You think this is a date?!"

Hikaru barely turned look at Chris so that Chris still couldn't see his face. "It sure as hell looks like one."

Luca threw his arms up in defense and laughed. "No no no. This isn't a date. We're just catching up because we haven't really talked since we graduated college!"

"Hikaru. I'm not on a date with Luca. He has a wife. And two children. It's not what you think it is."

"Whatever. You still seem pretty damn happy without me. I'm gonna go ho-" He paused, knowing well that Christian had already seen through his lie. "-I'm going to get a drink."

"Hikaru don't."

He kept walking.

"Hikaru."

Still refused to listen.

"Hikaru Hitachiin, you take one more fucking step and so help me-"

Hikaru finally turned back to face Christian. "What?! What are you gonna do if I go get drunk and 'ruin my life?' Are you gonna leave me? Oh wait, YOU ALREADY DID THAT! What more could you possibly do?"

"I-" Chris was about to speak when he noticed the injuries on his ex-boyfriend's face. He walked forward, filling a large amount of the gap between the two. "What the hell happened to your face?" Chris reached out to touch Hikaru's slightly stitched nose and slightly blackened, even though it was pretty nicely covered with makeup, eye, but Hikaru looked away from him.

"It doesn't matter."

"Don't tell me Sofia actually fought with you."

"Verbally, yes. Physically, no. Someone else punched me. But like I said, that isn't important. So if you would excuse me, I'm going to erase myself from your life."

Luca walked up next to Chris and spoke quietly. "Hey Chris I'm gonna head out now. Text or call me whenever you wanna hang out again. I'll leave you two to deal with this."

Chris nodded at his friend and then went back to Hikaru. "How the hell is erasing you from my life going to fix anything?"

"You won't have to deal with me anymore. I won't have to deal with me anymore."

"Don't you dare."

Hikaru went silent.

"You never said why you're here."

"Yes I did."

"No you said something like 'you probably already know why I'm here.' But obviously I don't."

"I _was_ here to win you back. I had everything planned. I would ask why you are here, too, but I already know why. I'm the one that sent you the pass here."

"No you aren't. Kyoya is."

"I bought it. Kyoya sent it. The only reason I didn't send it is because I knew you wouldn't accept it if it was from me."

"So why'd you send me here of all places?"

"Your two favorite places are museums and aquariums. These five years weren't nothing to me."

"Prove it."

"What?"

"Prove it." Chris walked back over to the bench he was sitting on earlier and looked over at Hikaru. "If our relationship meant something to you, then prove it. Here's your final chance. Take it while you can."

Hikaru's eyes widened. "Prove it?! You're giving me a second chance?!"

Chris nodded up at Hikaru.

The older twin pulled out his phone to check the time. _11:00pm._ "Okay so to really prove it, look up at the sky in eleven minutes."

"And until then I'm just supposed to sit here and wait?"

"No that'd be stupid."

"Well then. Prove it."

Hikaru took a deep breath before speaking. "Please don't laugh."

Chris's eyes widened when he spoke. Hikaru was speaking Italian. So Chris replied in Italian. "Since when did you speak Italian?"

Hikaru spoke in English once more. "Okay I only know that phrase and what I memorized with Nat's help in Italian. So I'm not fluent."

Chris laughed. "Alright. Keep going."

Hikaru took a deep breath once more before continuing in Italian. "So . . . I've never been great with romance. Or feelings in general. I've always either pushed them aside or blamed them on someone else. But you already know that by now . . . But luckily, with this bit of romance and feelings, I had quite a bit of help. So hopefully, this is better than what you would expect from me."

Chris spoke in English. "It already is."

Hikaru smiled before continuing. "When we first started dating, I refused to admit that we were. I refused to tell anyone that we were dating. Mainly because I refused to admit that I was gay. Which is weird because everyone already knew it and I knew no one would have a problem with it . . . But anyways, when we first got together, everything was finally okay. You helped me finally put the drinks down. You kicked my ass whenever I was a complete moron. You taught me how to be a better human being. And you didn't . . . Until now you didn't leave. You stayed with me through all the hell I put you through. And honestly, I don't blame you for leaving when you did. I tried to tell myself that it wasn't my fault, but I only did that because I was being a dumb kid. You were right. You were absolutely right when you said I wasn't ready to grow up. I wasn't. I was afraid of growing up and committing myself to things and having real responsibility. I can't blame you for wanting something real. I can't blame you for wanting to grow up. I can only blame myself for being too stupid to realize it before it was too late. But I do know what I can blame you for. I can absolutely blame you for making me fall so hard for you that I would never be able to move on if you left me. I can blame you for making me realize that I'm a complete fucking dumbass that doesn't ever realize what I have until it's gone. And I can sure as hell blame you for making Sofia hate me more than she did before and for Kyoya punching me in the face."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "Well no. Sofia and Kyoya I can blame on myself. But falling for you is all on you. I've realized by now that you are the only one that has ever made me feel this way. You're the only one that I've ever been this in love with."

Hikaru reached out his hand to pull Chris off the bench. "I love you so much, Chris. I will do anything to make you forgive me for what I've done. I will do anything to spend the rest of my life with you. Growing up and growing old . . . with you."

Hikaru pulled out his phone to check the time once more. _11:10pm._ "Now. Close your eyes and let me prove how much I love you."

Chris closed his eyes and Hikaru backed away from him slightly. "Now look up to the sky and – It's 11:11. Make a wish."

When Chris opened his eyes he saw the ever-so-cliché fireworks in the sky that read out, "Will you marry me, Chris." He laughed and looked back down at Hikaru who was on one knee with an open box holding a new ring in his hand.

"So. Christian Marcello diLazzaro-"

"Please don't use my middle name."

"Sorry sorry. Christian diLazzaro. Will you be so kind as to make my wish come true? Will you marry me?"

Chris took the ring out of the box and put it on his hand. He looked at it for a moment before pulling Hikaru off of the ground and smiling. "Well it looks like you proved it." He pulled Hikaru into a kiss. "Of course."

The two pulled even closer in a passionate and teary kiss. Once they pulled apart, Chris spoke. "Your timing is impeccable."

Hikaru smirked at his new fiancé. "We made a deal, right?"

Chris pulled him into another heated kiss and laughed. "You're such an asshole."

"Yeah I know."

"I can't believe I'm marrying an asshole."

Hikaru pulled away and smiled wide. "In all honesty . . . me neither."

"But . . . It is probably the best birthday present I could ask for. Late or not."

"Happy late birthday, Chris."

"Yeah. Happy birthday to me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so yeah even though it took a shit ton of time, it ended up being a very happy late birthday for Chris.
> 
> Hopefully my birthday will be better than Chris's actual birthday was. But seeing as I share a birthday with a popular anime character, it's highly unlikely.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this wonderfully long chapter as much as I did (especially kyoya punching hikaru. tbh i thought it was kinda hot and im pretty sure sam did too).
> 
> So PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!
> 
> I will try to get the next chapter up by sunday but no promises!
> 
> Until next time Chapter 25? - Burning Up
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW
> 
> THANKS SO SO SO MUCH!


	26. Burning Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO I HAVE RETURNED! I AM NOT DEAD HELLO IT IS I! Okay but for real I'm back in full force. Not really. This chapter isn't one of my best. I'm gonna be totally honest.
> 
> I've been on hiatus for a few reasons. 1-It's almost the end of the first semester so school has been waaay too crazy for my liking. 2-I am in the school musical so rehearsals have been sprouting up more and more often 3-I am so deep into Jeanmarco hell that all I do is focus on that nowadays. 4-I am currently working on six different pieces of writing (three of which are jeanmarco and tbh im not even sorry) and 5- I have had MAJOR WRITERS BLOCK FOR THIS DAMN STORY
> 
> But luckily I'm finally back with this chapter. Trust me. This chapter was a bitch to write. Seeing as I don't have small children that I'm around 24/7. But here it is with all it's cuteness. Enjoy the happiness while it lasts. Because ya know that huge angst chapter that will affect at least two chapters after it that I mentioned a while back? Yeah that's coming up in like one or two chapters. And I'm gonna be totally honest when I say I can't wait to post that baby.
> 
> Be prepared for one traumatic experience because I sure as hell am prepared for all the "Why that character?" "What did they ever do to you?" "They had such a perfect little life and you had to ruin it." and "I hate you"
> 
> So be prepared. We've all got a huge storm coming.

Haruhi walked into a relatively quiet house and brushed her feet against the doormat to get the snow off of her boots. She was carrying a multitude of boxes that she carefully discarded before taking off her boots and walking further into the foyer of the home.

"Tamaki?" Haruhi half shouted this to see if she could get her husband's response. The only movement that came from her call was that of a small brunet boy darting forward and clinging to his mother's leg.

"Hey Ant. What's going on? Where's Daddy?"

Antoine looked up as his mother spoke. "Daddy's upstairs with Kemi and I was playing down here 'cause I din wanna play tea party with Kemi and so Kemi got Daddy to play with her and so now I'm down here 'cause I din wanna play." The nearly five year old took a deep breath after his long drawn-out sentence was completed.

Haruhi laughed and brushed Antoine's hair out of his face. "Well can you go get Daddy for me? I need him to help me bring this stuff upstairs." She gestured to the boxes and bags next to her.

The small boy peeled himself from his mother's leg and went to peer into the packaging before Haruhi pulled him back.

"Mommy, what's this stuffs?"

"I can't tell you." Haruhi picked her son up and pulled him away from the bags and boxes.

"But why?"

"Because it's a surprise."

"But why?"

"Why what?"

"Why's it a surprise?"

"Because surprises are more fun."

"But why?"

"Because you get more of a reaction out of the person when they open it."

"But why?"

"Because they don't know what it is."

"But why?"

Haruhi sighed and ran her fingers through her hair after setting her son down. "Antoine can you please just go get Daddy?"

"But wh-"

"I'll make chocolate chip cookies for dessert."

Without hesitation, Antoine ran across the foyer and all the way up the stairs to go find his father.

Not even a minute later, Haruhi could hear three pairs of feet rushing down the stairs. The noise of the clunking feet was accompanied by a noise grand enough to rival a hundred piece brass band.

"Akemi, sweetie. We need to pause the tea party for just a few minutes okay?"

Akemi chased after her father while wearing transparent plastic heels, a Queen Elsa dress, and a crown. She also had a wooden spoon in her hand and spoke with a very poor British accent. "But Princess! The all mighty Queen did not dismiss you from the party!"

Antoine spoke up over his sister. "Kemi! Mommy told me to get Daddy because she needs his help with surprise thingies."

"Yes. Mommy needs my help so can we please go back to the tea party in a few minutes."

Akemi put her hands on her hips and stood directly in front of her father. "What did I say about Mommy?" She got no response so she stuck out the wooden spoon and poked it against Tamaki's stomach. "Mommy's a strong in'pendent woman that doesn't need help from a silly man like you."

Haruhi laughed and rounded the corner to see what was going on, which only made her break out into even more hysterical laughter. She looked over to where her two children were and saw Tamaki standing between them. He had two small fountain pigtails in his hair and one small braid sticking out from the back. He had bright pink lipstick all over his mouth and chin. He had one arm completely covered in bracelets and the other with flowers drawn on it with eyeliner. And lastly, he was wearing a pink sparkly child's apron and a crown. Akemi seemed to have gone all out.

"I can't believe I actually married my father."

Tamaki pouted and crossed his arms. "Haruhi, that's not very nice."

Haruhi chuckled and waved off his response. "Alright alright. I'm joking. Now can you please help me with these?" She gestured to the boxes and bags back around the corner.

"No!" Akemi shouted and stood between her parents. "The Princess needs to return to the tea party. Her guests are waiting and the all mighty Queen says so!"

"Well I am the almighty Mom and I think that means I have more power than you."

Antoine chuckled from behind Tamaki. Akemi pointed her spoon at him and shouted. "You hush, royal cat!" She turned back to her mother and crossed her arms. "How long d'you need my Princess's help?"

"Five minutes. Tops."

Akemi scoffed and turned her head. "One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Time's up!"

Tamaki sighed and walked over to the boxes. "Akemi. How about you wait upstairs and I'll be back in a few minutes. You can't leave the guests alone forever now. If you did then what kind of hostess would you be?"

The blonde girl nodded and rushed upstairs. Antoine walked away and looked through the small toy box in the living room as Tamaki and Haruhi took the items to their room.

Meanwhile Tamaki and Haruhi went to take the boxes and bags to their room.

"So what exactly is all of this, Haruhi?"

She sighed and placed some boxes on the bed. "Really, Tamaki? These are the kids presents."

"Presents for what?"

Haruhi looked over and glared at her husband. "You can't be serious right now."

"What?"

"These are their birthday presents. Antoine and Akemi turn five tomorrow, remember? You're the one who told me to get every single thing they asked for." She sighed and moved some of the boxes into one of their closets. "I still think it's a bit ridiculous that I got them everything they wanted. You know I don't want to turn them into spoiled rich kids."

Tamaki frowned and helped move the rest of the presents to the closet. "But they deserve to get what they wanted."

"I still don't want the fact that you're wealthy make them think they can get whatever they want."

"Fair enough."

"And I really hope this is all they wanted. You seemed to be able to give me a very extensive list of what Akemi wanted, castle and all, but you didn't give me that great of a list for Antoine. Oh and I didn't get her a castle that was just ridiculous."

Tamaki looked over at Haruhi, confused. "What do you mean? I thought both of their lists were very extensive."

"Yeah but it seemed like you barely even asked Ant what he wanted. Do you spend any where near as much time with him as you do with Akemi?"

"Well he never wants to hang out with me and Akemi. He always says that he wants to be with you or read or something like that. He barely even plays with any of his toys."

Haruhi sighed and sat down on their bed after she put the last gift away. "But there has to be something that he'll enjoy doing with you instead of me. What about the piano. He loves music and everything like that so why don't you teach him the piano?"

"He prefers string instruments. That's why a guitar was on his list. Any type of string instrument is ten times more fascinating to him than the piano. Trust me, I've tried."

Haruhi shrugged and leaned on Tamaki's shoulder as he sat down beside her. "Well maybe once he gets older you two will have more in common."

"Haruhi?"

"Tamaki, so help me, if you ask to have another kid the answer is still no."

Tamaki fell back on the bed and groaned. "Haruhi that's not fair! The twins are very well behaved so why can't we have another?"

"Yeah why can't we have 'nother baby?!"

A small voice came from the doorway of their room. Haruhi and Tamaki both turned to see Antoine poking his head into their room. As soon as he made eye contact with his parents, he screamed and ran back downstairs.

"Antoine wait!" Haruhi got up off the bed and ran after him. "Don't run down the stairs! You're gonna hurt yourself!"

"Haruhi, I'm gonna go see what Akemi is up to!" Tamaki shouted after her as she ran down the stairs after Antoine.

Once Tamaki walked into Akemi's room, he noticed that the tea party was completely cleaned up. Everything was back in its place and Akemi was nowhere to be found.

"Akemi? Kemi, where'd you go?"

"Muwahahahahhhahaah!"

Tamaki sighed and rubbed his hand over his face, smearing the lipstick he forgot he had on even more. "Akemi, come on out. We're gonna eat dinner soon."

As fast as she possibly could, which was surprisingly very fast, Akemi bolted out of her closet and climbed to the top of her dresser. "Muwahaha! I have captured the fair princess!"

"Akemi, get down from there. And what did you do to your face?"

She stood triumphantly on the top of her dresser. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and she had green sharpie all over her face. The marker was in a circle around her eye like a monacle, a curly mustache above her mouth, and a pointy beard all the way down her chin. She also had a pair of scissors in her hand that she held up like a sword of some sorts.

"It's-a time-a for da pizza man to cut-a your hair-a!" Akemi spoke in a very forced Italian accent that was mockingly reminiscent of Natalia and Christian.

Tamaki walked over to the dresser and picked his daughter up off of it. "Akemi, what have I told you about playing with markers and scissors? Use them on paper only."

She squirmed in his grasped and continued to shout. "No-a one can-a stop-a da PIZZA MAN!"

She squirmed enough to escape from Tamaki's hold on her and she ran out of her room while laughing maniacally.

"Akemi, stop running! I told you you're not supposed to run with scissors!"

"THE PIZZA MAN WILL-A RULE-A DA WORLD-A!"

He finally caught up with her and grabbed the scissors out of her hand, causing her to run away again, this time downstairs.

While all of this was happening, Haruhi finally found Antoine in the living room. He was playing with a toy truck.

She walked into the living room, but he apparently didn't notice her, seeing as he was still trying to find a way to get inside the car, even though it was the size of his foot.

"Hey Ant . . . Whatcha doin?"

At the sound of his mother's voice, Antoine stepped and tripped on the toy car, consequentially falling on his butt and causing the car to slam into the wall.

He sat there for a solid minute before he looked up at Haruhi and frowned.

"I'm sorry, Mommy."

Haruhi laughed and sat down next to him on the floor. "Sorry for what?"

"For bein' a sneeze dropper on yours and Daddy's talking."

"It's eavesdropping, Ant. And you don't have to apologise for that. Daddy and I weren't talking about anything important."

Antoine looked down at his lap and played with the hem of his shirt. "But . . . But Daddy thinks I don't like him."

He started to cry when Haruhi pulled him onto her lap and hugged him. "No no shh. It's okay. Daddy doesn't think that, Ant. Really he doesn't."

Antoine sniffled and held onto Haruhi's shirt. "T-then why was he talkin' about having another baby to replace me?"

"Okay first of all, he wasn't talking about having another baby to replace you. He just wants another baby. And second of all, if you're so convinced he wants to replace you, why did you agree with having another baby?"

He shrugged and made an "I don't know" noise while still clinging to Haruhi. "I want 'nother baby too. Maybe the baby will play with me since Kemi always has Daddy and you always gotta work."

Haruhi pulled her son off of her and wiped his face with her sleeve. "Here. How about this. I'll think about having another baby. It won't happen soon but I will consider it. But only if, and I mean ONLY IF, you hang out with your sister and your father more. You can't just want to hang out with me all the time, Ant."

The brunet boy nodded and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

"Here. To start, why don't you go ask Akemi if she wants to go outside with you and play in the snow?"

With that, Antoine jumped up and ran to find his sister, only to run into her as she bolted down the hallway, still shouting about the Pizza Man.

"Kemi! Kemi! Kemi! Kemi!"

She stood up after falling on the ground and pointed her finger defiantly at her brother. "I AM-A DA PIZZA MAN AND I WILL-A RULE-A DA WORLD!"

Completely ignoring his sisters villainous shouting, Antoine grabbed Akemi's hand and pulled her to the foyer closet to get their snow clothes out. "Mommy said we can play outside in the snow!"

Haruhi walked into the foyer with a very out of breath Tamaki behind her.

"The Pizza Man needs-a to know-a if this is 'a true-a." Akemi, still not breaking character, turned to her mother and placed her hands on her hips.

Haruhi nodded. "As long as you put your snow suit on."

Antoine was already fully bundled up and ready to go so he opened the door and ran out into the snow, plopping down to make a snow angel.

Akemi, or the Pizza Man rather, was still not in her snow suit when the door opened and refused to put it on once she saw the snow. She started to walk out the door when Haruhi called for her to stop.

"Akemi there is no way I'm letting you go outside in the snow in just jeans and a t-shirt."

Instead of coming back inside, Akemi took off her socks, threw them inside at her parents, and ran out onto the front porch shouting, "THE PIZZA MAN LISTENS TO-A NO ONE!"

As she ran down the front steps on the porch, she ended up slipping on the bottom step and falling face first into the snow. She just sat there silently for a moment before breaking out into hysterical sobs.

"MOMMY! DADDY! THIS IS TOO COLD WHY DIDN'T YOU PUT MY SNOW SUIT ON ME! YOU HATE ME! YOU HATE ME! YOU HATE ME!"

* * *

"Are you all warmed up now, Akemi?"

"No."

Haruhi sighed as Akemi curled up in her father's lap covered in blankets. "I'm only gonna give you one more blanket." She paused. "Do you want another blanket Akemi?"

The small blonde girl nodded and snuggled against Tamaki's chest even more.

Antoine was sitting in his mother's lap and drinking hot chocolate while this was happening. "Ant, you gotta get up. C'mon let's go get your sister another blanket."

He held up the cup of hot chocolate in front of him. "What do I do with this?"

"Just put it down on the table."

Antoine got up and carefully placed the cup on the coffee table in front of him before following Haruhi down the hall to get another blanket from the closet. He ran past his mother and opened the closet before she got there.

"What blanket do you think we should give her, Ant?"

He stood there with his hand on the doorknob and stared at the blankets in front of him for a moment before speaking. "A itchy one."

Haruhi laughed and looked down at her son. "That's not very nice, Ant. And we don't have any itchy blankets."

He walked into the closet and pulled out one of the many Frozen blankets they had. "Then this one."

"Okay do you want to carry it, or do you want me to carry it?"

"I'll do it!" And with that he ran back to the living room and placed the blanket ever-so-carefully on top of his sister.

He then turned back to Haruhi as she walked in the room. "Is it bed time now?"

Haruhi looked over at Tamaki. "Yeah I think now is a good time for you two to go to sleep. Tamaki, are you just gonna carry Akemi?"

The small girl whined in her father's arms as he picked her up. "Nooooo. I don wanna go to bed yet!"

She pulled the blankets tight around her and buried her face in Tamaki's shoulder.

"Akemi, if you go to bed now then your birthday will come faster."

Her eyes went wide and she stopped whining. "Okay bedtime."

* * *

Knock knock knock

Haruhi blinked open her eyes and looked over at the clock on her night stand.

Three twenty-eight AM.

Knock knock knock.

The door creaked open and a small blond figure became visible in the doorway.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

Haruhi moved Tamaki's arm so that it was off of her waist and got up out of bed.

"Akemi, what's wrong?"

Akemi, who was in Frozen footie pyjamas and was holding a plush Olaf in one hand, wiped her teary eyes with her free and and sniffled.

"Mommy. I-I don feel good."

Haruhi knelt down to Akemi's height and wiped off her face. "What doesn't feel good, sweetie?"

Tamaki, who was just now becoming conscious enough to realise that he was no longer wrapped around his wife, sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. "Haruhi, what's going on?"

Haruhi picked Akemi up and turned back towards Tamaki. "Akemi doesn't feel good. And she's burning up so I think she has a fever."

Tamaki got up immediately and started getting dressed.

"Tamaki what are you doing?"

"Akemi is sick so we have to take her to the hospital."

At the mention of the word hospital, Akemi buried her face in Haruhi's neck and started crying again. "I don wanna go to the doctors."

"Tamaki! She doesn't have to go to the hospital. That's just ridiculous. She has a fever so she needs rest. She's probably just sick from going out in the snow earlier. And anyways it's only like three am. The only doctor that we could take her too is the emergency room, which again is completely ridiculous."

"But it's her birthday. She needs to feel better for her birthday."

"I understand that, but what she needs most right now is rest. Then she can feel better. I'll give her some medicine and then all day once she wakes up later, she get's to be pampered all day so that she can feel better on her birthday." She brushed Akemi's hair out of her face. "How does that sound, Akemi?"

Akemi nodded and pulled her Olaf plush up to her face.

Once Akemi was back in bed, Tamaki and Haruhi went to their room to go back to bed themselves.

"Are you sure she'll be okay?"

"Tamaki, you've never really been sick before. You only had that one time that you were so emotionally distraught that it made you sick. I practically raised myself. I know that what you need when you have a fever is a little bit of medicine and a lot of rest. Trust me."

"Alright. I trust you."

Once they got back to their room, Tamaki and Haruhi opened their door to find a small figure on their bed. Antoine was playing games on a tablet in the middle of their bed.

Haruhi sighed and walked over to him. "Ant, why are you awake?"

Without looking from his game, he replied to his mother. "I heard you and Daddy and Kemi were up and talking and stuff and I couldn't sleep and yeah."

Haruhi held out her hand in front of her son. "Well you have to go back to sleep so hand it over."

He pouted and exited out of his game before handing the tablet to his mother. "B-but can I-" he took a deep breath before continuing, "-can I at least sleep in here with you and Daddy because I can't sleep and I wanna sleep in here with you and Daddy."

Tamaki walked over to his side of the bed and sat down. "Yes but you have to sleep. You don't get your birthday presents until breakfast time so you have to sleep until then."

Haruhi walked to her spot and got under the covers. "C'mon Ant. Time to go back to sleep."

The small boy nodded and crawled under the covers and curled up right against Haruhi.

"G'nite Mommy. G'nite Daddy."

They both laughed and spoke in unison. "Goodnight Antoine."

* * *

"I jus wanna open my presents." Akemi rolled over in her bed and pulled the blankets up to her eyes.

"You already opened all of them, Akemi."

The little girl let out a high pitched squeal at her father's response and turned back over on her bed. "But I didn't get a castle like I wanted!"

"Akemi . . . You know a castle is too much. We got you a toy one though."

She curled up into a ball under her blankets and let out a small whine. "S'not fair."

Haruhi walked in the room at this point to take her bowl of soup away from her. "Yes it is. You and Antoine got the exact same amount of presents which was still a lot more than I wanted to get you. It's just your birthday. You should've only gotten one or two things."

"But I wanted all this stuff."

"Well it isn't gonna be like this every year."

Akemi poked her head out of the end of the blanket to look at her parents. "Can I have cake now?"

Haruhi started to walk out of the room as she spoke. "You can't eat cake until you're feeling better."

Antoine, who was sitting on the floor of his sister's room playing with his new presents, looked up at his father since his mother had just left the room. "Do I still get to eat cake?"

"Yes. You're not sick so you can still have cake."

With that, Antoine hopped up and took his new children's guitar and ran out of the room to go find his mother.

Akemi, on the other hand, slammed her face into her pillow and screamed. "YOU ALL HATE ME THIS ISN'T FAIR!"

* * *

"Kemi?" A small voice was heard from her doorway. Her room was already dark, save the small night light in the corner. It was barely eight o'clock at night. Akemi just decided to go back to bed after throwing a myriad of tantrums throughout the day.

Antoine walked in the room and turned on the light, causing Akemi to squeal and cover her face with her blanket. "Kemi wake up. I got this for you."

She pulled the covers away from her face enough to see Antoine walking over to her bed with something in his hands.

She sat up and looked over at him as he held out the object in his hands. He was holding a plate. And on that plate was a piece of cake that said "Happy" on it.

Akemi stuck her bottom lip out in a pout and sighed. "Mommy and Daddy said I can't have any cake."

Antoine continued to hold out the piece of cake. "Yeah but I told Mommy that I wasn't gonna have any cake unless you can have some too because it's your birthday too and but you're sick so you can't have cake but Mommy thought it was really nice that I said that so she said you can have cake too so she told me to bring you cake because now you can have cake too."

"Oh. Well thanks Ant! Happy our birthday to us!"

She took the cake from Antoine and he ran back to the door to pick up the piece of cake he left at the door. He picked it up and ran back over to Akemi's bed and sat down next to her.

Instead of using forks, the twins decided to use their fingers and draw pictures on each other's faces out of icing.

Antoine laughed at the smiley face he drew on Akemi's forehead. "Happy our birthday to us!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Antoine and Akemi are literally the cutest and I can't deal with the relationship they have. It gets even better as they get older because they're gonna be super close but mind you they are still brother and sister so a lot of shit is gonna go down between them too.
> 
> So don't worry you'll be thanking me for this chapter when I post that huge angsty one soon. We all needed this after all the shit that went down with some of the most recent chapters.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I will do my best to update this weekend. And trust me there will not be a month gap again. I promise.
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW! I MISSED YOU GUYS!


	27. Catch-Up Games Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *throws this at your face and walks away*
> 
> ALRIGHT! IT'S DONE! LEAVE ME ALONE!
> 
> No really I feel really bad for making you guys wait this long. I broke my promise and I am eternally sorry for that. BUT NONETHELESS I finished this chapter.
> 
> Me: This'll be a short and cute chapter. Easy to write. Easy to edit. Easy to post. Perfect chapter to have before the big angsty one next.
> 
> Google Docs: Pages -5 Word Count - 9575
> 
> Me: Well damn.
> 
> So this is a lot longer than expected. I do plan on posting the next chapter (aka BIG ANGST CLIFFHANGER YOU'RE ALL GONNA HATE ME FOR REAL FOR REAL) very soon. It is fully written and just needs some minor changes. And since I don't have rehearsal tomorrow I can work on that and the chapter after it. So it will be posted soon after this. Very soon. Like within 24 hours I think. Yeah.
> 
> SO PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!
> 
> Without further ado, have some tooth rotting fluff and illegible small child dialect!

_July 10th. 6am. Tokyo Japan._

"Haruhi." She spoke as the phone rang over and over again.

This was the third time she called. "Haruhi, come on dammit! Answer the phone! This is actually important."

Mei Yasumura hadn't really changed much since high school. She was still best friends with Haruhi Fujioka who was now Haruhi Suoh. She was still stubborn and extremely opinionated. She still didn't have the best relationship, though it was better than it used to be, with her father. And she was still in a relationship with her soft hearted gangster love, Ritsu Kasanoda.

That long time relationship, in fact, was the cause of urgency in Mei's constant phone calls to her best friend.

After the fifth phone call, Haruhi finally picked up the phone.

"Oh thank God you picked up. What the hell took you so long to answer?"

Haruhi sighed on the other line and let out a dry laugh. "Well I have a few things that could have caused the delay. Ya know like my kids. Tamaki. Being an adult with actual responsibilities. But I was in court."

"Wait . . . Are you serious? What the hell did you do to get yourself in court."

"I'm a lawyer, Mei. It's what I do to make a living."

Mei sighed and laughed at her moment of ignorance. "Oh . . . Right. Forgot about that. But you know . . . I don't really think that counts as making a living because you're married to Tamaki. You really don't even have to work."

"You know what I meant, Mei."

"Alright. Alright. Sorry."

There was a brief pause before Haruhi spoke up again. "So?"

"So . . . What?"

"Well you called me five times total and left me four very loud and jumbled voicemails. So what was that all about?"

"Oh! That! Yeah. Uhm . . . It's about Ritsu . . . And me I guess. It's about our relationship."

"Are you two breaking up?"

"No."

"Did he get you pregnant?"

"Wha- No! Not everyone is like you, Haruhi. Some of us know how to use protection."

"Alright that was a little mean."

"I know."

"Are you gonna tell me what is going on or no?"

"Well . . . I mean . . ."

"Are you two finally getting married?"

Mei paused on her end of the call and sighed. "You see . . . About that."

"I got it! He finally proposed and you said no."

"Haruhi, would you just let me explain please!?"

"Alright, go ahead."

"Okay so since we are verging on our anniversary-"

"What year anniversary is this now?"

"Thirteen. Now would you stop interrupting me?"

"Damn. Thirteen years and still not married. Sorry you can continue now."

"Well over the past few months he's been acting really weird. Like he's been overly nice to me, like he was when we first started dating. And at first I thought it was just to be nice, but then I started catching on and . . ."

"And what?"

"I think he's gonna propose to me soon."

Haruhi paused, expecting more to be said. "That's it?"

"What do you mean, 'that's it?' This is a huge deal, Haruhi!"

"Well why is it a huge deal? You've been together for twelve years, Mei."

"Because . . . Because I don't know if I want to say yes."

Mei's last words came out in a hasty jumble. She went silent after she finished her thought, waiting for a response from Haruhi.

"Then say no."

"What?! I can't just 'say no,' Haruhi!"

"Well why not? I mean you have the right to say no. I hope you realize that. But here's a better question . . . Why are you hesitant to say yes?"

"Marriage is terrifying."

"It's just some rings, a fancy dress, and a bunch of legalities, Mei."

"And all of your friends and family members watching you swear to spend the rest of your life loving this person. And if you end up getting a divorce you have all of their side of the family hating you, all of your side of the family hating him, and that small group of people constantly whispering "I told you so" in your ear until the day you die. And everyone expects you to have kids and I don't think I'll be able to do that. Haruhi, help me out I'm freaking out right now."

Haruhi sighed into the phone and spoke calmly. "Mei, calm down. Everything is going to be fine."

Mei's level of panic had yet to subside. "How do you know it's going to be alright? What if it all falls to shit like I just said?"

"If you are so afraid of this then why did you have no problem being my maid of honor? And why is it that when I asked about you two getting married a few years ago you seemed like you were waiting on him so that you could say yes?"

"People change, Haruhi."

"Sure. If people change then why does Tamaki still insist on going to different small towns in America just to see different 'Commoners' ways of life?'"

"Because Tamaki's weird, i don't know."

"Alright that's it. If Kasanoda proposes, and I think he will, then you will say yes. You are still in love with him. You two are meant to be. So calm down and call up Kaoru because you'll be needing a wedding dress soon."

"No I won't."

"Mei, come on. If you were going to say no, you wouldn't still be dating him."

Mei sighed and steadied her thoughts. "I'm not saying no. I've decided."

"Good. So start looking for wedding dresses."

"No. We might have a small ceremony later. But right now . . . Right now we're going to elope. Amd I'm going to beat him to asking me."

* * *

_Tokyo Japan. 2pm._

"Adrian and Yukimi, stop fighting right now."

Yukimi groaned and turned towards her mother. "But Mommy! Adrian is trying to feed my toys to Angus again."

The dark great dane lifted his head up at the sound of his name, but quickly resumed his relaxed position on the backyard grass.

Adrian put his hands on his hips and glared at his sister. "Angus gotta need new toys!"

"You gotta learn how to talk rightly!"

Sofia sighed and continued to play with her youngest child, Katsuo. He was nearly two years old and very small for his age due to his very premature birth and his now completely healed heart condition. Even though he was still very small, he was able to sit up on his own and grab onto and hold almost everything in sight. That is if he didn't throw it across the room first.

As Yukimi and Adrian continued to argue incoherently, sofia snacked on sugar wafers and built building block houses with Katsuo.

"Mommy! Tell Adrian to stop!"

Adrian put his hands on his hips again and stuck his tongue out at Yukimi before mocking her "Mommy! Tell Aidren to stop!"

Yukimi scoffed and moved into the same position that adrian was in. "You can't even talk your own name rightly!"

"Can to!"

"Can not!"

Adrian put his hands down as his face got all red. "W-well. You don't even known how neither!"

"You don't make no sense, Adrian!"

"So do you!"

As her brother continued to shout at her, not making much sense since he was still only three and not quite the genius that some of the other children in this story are, Yukimi stormed off and ran into the house, her toys in her arms.

After Yukimi left, Adrian sat down next to his mother and sighed. "Mommy?"

Sofia turned to look at Adrian and smoothed out the tangled wavy mess of hair on his head. "Yeah,sweetie?"

He looked down in his lap and sniffled "Kimi hates me."

Sofia pulled Adrian into her lap and hugged him. "Oh no she doesn't, loves you! She just doesn't want you to feed her toys to Angus anymore. That's all."

Adrian looked up at his mother. "But she hates me all times!"

Sofia pulled her son even closer and hugged him again. "Shh. She doesn't hate you, sweetie. Don't say that. When you guys get older it'll be better. Trust me."

Adrian sniffled again and rubbed his eyes on his sleeve. "Mommy promise?"

Sofia laughed and smiled "Yes. Mommy promises."

The two sat quietly playing with Katsuo for a few minutes before the conversation started up again.

"Adrian, why don't you run inside and get some snacks for us?"

The boy nodded and jumped up. "Can I gets cookies too?"

"Only if you get me some too."

Adrian nodded sharply. "Deal."

Adrian then ran off into the house to grab some food, leaving Sofia outside with her youngest child.

Once Adrian was back inside, Katsuo stopped playing with his toys and frowned up at his mother.

"What's wrong, Katsuo?"

He didn't yet anyways. He would always just point at what he wanted and make a small whiny noise. However, even though he didn't speak yet, it was very clear that he understood when anyone talked to doctor told them that he probably wouldn't start talking until he was closer to four years old. Both Takashi and Sofia were very patient with that fact. The only thing they were worried about was the possibility that he would have some form of speech impediment. They saw how silent Zoe stayed because of her lisp and they definitely didn't want their son to go through that. There were worse things that could happen to him besides a lisp, but neither of them liked to think about that.

So when Sofia asked what was wrong, Katsuo just turned his black-haired head around and pointed at the back door of the house.

"Adrian just went inside for a 'll be right back."

Katsuo turned back to Sofia and frowned again, looking a few feet away to where Adrian and Yukimi had set up some blankets.

"What's wrong?"

He just continued frowning and pointed at the blankets where a small stuffed dragon was set on top of Adrian's blanket. He stretched his arm out as far as it would go and made his ever-so-constant whining noises as he pointed at the dragon.

"Okay okay. I'll get you the dragon." Sofia moved forward and picked up the plush toy and handed it to Katsuo.

Once he had the toy, he stopped whining. So, Sofia took this as an opportunity to try to get Katsuo to finally talk.

"What color is that, sweetie?"

Katsuo froze for a split second, staring at the dragon. Red. He knew it was red. She knew he knew it was red. But, he simply lifted the toy up to Sofia's face and pointed at the red coloring on its side.

"Yes that color. That's red. Can you say red?"

He just put the dragon down and stared at her.

Sofia sighed and looked around. Blue. The sky.

She pointed above them. "What about blue? The sky is blue."

He looked up at Sofia's finger, but still said nothing. All he did was follow his mother's lead and point up at the sky too. He looked back at Sofia's face and giggled.''

Sofia sighed again and put her hand down.

"What about me. I'm Mommy. Or Mama. Can you at least say Mama?"

Katsuo put his finger down too and stared blankly at his mother as she spoke.

Sofia just smiled and brushed her hand through his dark hair. "I guess we'll just have to stay patient."

She moved to lie on her back prompting Katsuo to crawl onto her stomach and play with her hair. After a few moments of their peaceful playtime without Adrian and Yukimi, a small baby canary landed a few feet next to the two.

Katsuo stopped playing with his mother's hair and stared at the bird. The little yellow bird started chirping and hopping around on the blanket as Katsuo became completely entranced with it.

"Do you like that bird? Can you say birdie?" Sofia sat up and placed Katsuo next to her as she tried her fruitless attempts once more.

Katsuo crawled over to the bird, but it didn't more from its spot. The canary just continues to chips its little song as the boy approached.

Katsuo held his small hand out to the bird, causing it to stop moving completely. After a moment, the bird bounced up, looking like it was about to fly away, but instead it hopped onto Katsuo's arm and continued to chirp.

Katsuo giggled profusely and turned to face his mother. He held up his arm and smiled wide at Sofia.

"Looks like you've got yourself a new friend, Katsuo."

The boy looked over at the canary on his arm and then back at his mother, holding his arm up high again.

"Piyo-piyo."

Sofia completely froze. She stared, wide-eyed, at her son and sat there for a moment before speaking.

"Wait, what?"

He quickly held up his arm even higher, prompting the bird to fly up and perch itself on his head. He pointed at the bird on his head and giggled again. "Piyo-piyo."

Sofia brought her hands to her mouth and gasped. Her eyes started to tear up when Adrian finally walked back outside.

As soon as he saw his mother's face, he started to frown. "What's wrong wit Mommy?"

Sofia didn't respond. She just continued to stare at Katsuo with the greatest look of astonishment on her face.

Adrian put the cookies down and ran back inside to get his father. "Daddy! Sums wrong wit Mommy!"

Takashi came out of one of the other rooms with Yukimi perched on his shoulders, reminiscent of Honi when the two were in high school.

"Adrian, what's wrong?"

Adrian grabbed onto his father's hand and pulled him to the back door. "Mommy!"

Takashi quickly followed his son outside. Once outside, he noticed the still shocked look on his wife's face and her still brimming with tears but none were shed yet.

"Sofia, what's wrong?"

She finally lowered her hands, revealing a huge weepy smile, and gestured to Katsuo. "Kashi. He did it. He finally spoke."

Katsuo, realizing his mother was talking to someone else, turned to face his father. He smiled wide and held up his hands to show him where the small bird was currently chirping.

He raised his hands higher and giggled before saying it again. "Piyo-piyo."

Sofia laughed as Takashi froze in pace. "He is your son, after all."

* * *

_6am. July 10th. On the close outskirts of Rome, Italy._

She pushed one of the two large doors open just enough for her to slip through. She stumbled her way around the large bedroom in the dark until she got to the large king sized bed. She used all of her strength to pull herself on top of the bed without dropping the teddy bear and wand that was in each of her hands so that she was able to crawl in between her parents.

Before they could notice her on their bed, the girl stood up and pointed the wand at the two of them and shouted a very mispronounced curse in her small three year old voice.

"Avavra Kavala!"

Natalia was the first to stir. She sat up, her dark curls in a mess around her face, and looked over at a clock on her night stand. "Bella, honey, what are you doing up so early?"

Bella squealed and ran up to jump into her mother's lap. She turned to face her still sleeping father and held out her wand to start poking his cheek.

After a few pokes and her repeating "Daddy" over again very loudly, Kaoru laughed and responded without actually opening his eyes yet.

"Good morning, Bella." He then sat up and stretched before turning to his wife and daughter. "What time is it, Nat?"

Natalia ran her hands through her hair. "Just past six."

Kaoru laughed and messed with Bella's hair eliciting a loud giggle from the girl. "I guess it's gonna be an early day."

Nat rested her chin atop Bella's head and poke up. "So . . . since you wanted to have such an early start today, what do you have planned? What do you want to do today Bella?"

Bella took in a deep breath and climbed over her mother to pull a tablet out of one of the nightstand drawers. She flipped the cover of the tablet open and then held the screen out to her mother for her to unlock it.

Natalia unlocked it and spoke again. "Do you just want to play games all day or-"

Isabella quickly but her small hand up to Natalia's face and covered her mother's mouth. "Shhh. Jus waiddamined."

The small auburn haired girl went back to typing things in on the about five minutes of frustrated sighs from the child and rough tapping on the screen, Bella smiled and held the tablet up to her parent's faces.

"Hawry Podder!"

On the tablet was a page on the internet browser that had all of the info for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios. THE Universal Studios. In Orlando, Florida. In the United States of America. Which wasn't at all in Europe. And definitely not in Italy, which was where Natalia, Kaoru, and Bella were currently residing.

Nat and Kaoru looked at each other for a second and then went back to their daughter. They smiled at her and tried not to sound as confused as they actually were.

"That's nice sweetie!" Nat spoke up first.

Then Kaoru. "But why are you showing us this? We already know you love Harry Potter."

"And I still don't know why we allowed her to binge watch all of the movies anyways, seeing as she is only three years old." Natalia mumbled and directed her statement towards her husband.

"Oh come on, Nat. She seemed so interested in it and she wouldn't watch any Disney princess movies."

"But still. She's only three. We could've waited to let her watch them until she was at least five."

"Hey!"

Bella stood up in her spot, put her hands on her hips, and shouted towards her parents.

Natalia and Kaoru both turned back to face their daughter and went silent.

"I w's talkin to you!"

Nat nodded. "Yes. About Harry Potter world."

Bella nodded also. "I wanna go!"

Natalia sighed and got up out of bed. "Bella, honey, why don't you wait here for a second while Daddy and I go get some coffee to wake us up? Then we'll talk about Harry Potter world. Can you do that?"

The girl nodded and plopped down on the bed so that she was lying in between her parents.

Kaoru turned to his wife, confused. "But I don't really drink coffee-"

"Kaoru. Now."

"Oh." Kaoru got out of bed and followed Natalia to the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Natalia leaned against a counter so that she was facing her husband. "We can't."

"What? Why not?"

"Kaoru. You do realise where that park is, right?"

Kaoru moved to lean against the counter opposite of Natalia and crossed his arms. "Yes. And?"

Natalia sighed and placed her palm on her face. "Hun that park is in Florida. We can't just drop everything and go all the way to America just to take our three year old daughter to an amusement park."

"Our only daughter."

"She's only three! She probably won't be able to ride any rides."

"Our only child."

"I understand that, Kaoru. You don't have to bring that up. Her being our only child does not have anything to do with the fact that we can't take her to Florida. We have jobs here, you know."

"Nat. We are the owners of a world renown fashion company. We don't have to oversee the actions of the business every single day. We can do whatever we want. We have enough people that are more than capable to look after things while we are gone for -what- a week maybe."

"Kaoru come on. Why do we have to attend to her every whim? I don't want her to be a snotty spoiled brat when she gets older."

"She won't be. Let's just take her this one time so that we can cross that off of our list. We can take her again in a few years if she still wants to go but we won't have to for a while if we do it now."

As the two were discussing (more like arguing about) the current situation, Isabella became restless and made her way to the kitchen. She poked her head through the doorway just enough to where she could still not be seen by her parents.

"We can't take her. End of story. She's too little. It's too short notice. It's too far away. We're not going."

At that statement, Bella ran into the kitchen letting out a high pitched squeal-scream-thing and latched onto her father's leg. "Daddy! 'S not faaaaiiiiwww. I wanna go see the pwace wit Hawry Podder!"

Kaoru sighed and pulled Bella off of his leg and tried to lift her up, but she refused to stay in her father's arms. "Bella. It's too far away. Mommy's right. We'll go some other time. We can't go right now."

Isabella wasn't listening. She ran around the kitchen screaming until she wore herself out enough to fall on the floor, faceplant, and continue tearing her vocal chords to shreds. "NO! I WANNA GO TO HAWRY PODDER NOW! I WANNA GO NOW! GO NOW! GO NOW!"

Kaoru turned to his wife, pleading to let them go so that they could make her happy.

"No. We aren't going. We can't let her act like this every time she doesn't get her way."

Bella got up from the floor and went back to clinging to her father's leg. "Daddy pweeaaasseee!" Her eyes were wide and brimming with tears. She was giving the oh so famous puppy-dog-stare in an attempt to win him over.

"Oh come on, hun. Look at her. You can't say no to that face."

Natalia sighed and walked out of the kitchen. "Fine. Start packing her stuff. I'll pack our stuff."

Bella then let out another shrill squeal-scream-thing and smiled wide. Kaoru then picked her up and followed Natalia out of the kitchen while Bella started chanting "Hawry Podder! Hawry Podder!"

Spoiled brat it is.

* * *

_July 12th 2021. 6pm. Tokyo Japan._

"So. Is there a reason we're at the nicest restaurant in town? You almost never want to go to places like this. You get all awkward and nervous."

**To: Haruhi**

**I think it's happening.**

**From: Haruhi**

**Is there a reason you're texting me at 5am?**

**To: Haruhi**

**Shit. Time Differences. Dammit.**

**But it's happening right now.**

**We're at this fancy restaurant and everything.**

**I don't think ive seen him this dressed up before.**

"What? Am I not allowed to take my girlfriend out to dinner every once and a while?"

Mei stopped glancing at her cell phone to look over at Kasanoda.

She crossed her arms and scoffed. "Oh come on, Ritsu. We've been together for almost thirteen years now. This sure as hell isn't your style."

**From: Haruhi**

**Just say yes or beat him to it.**

**We both know he'll get completely**

**flustered if he tries to propose**

**so you might as well do it instead.**

Kasanoda's face flushed red with embarrassment. "I-I've taken you out to fancy places like this before!"

Mei laughed and scooted closer to the table to get settled.

"Yeah but never as fancy as this."

He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He realized she was right.

**To: Haruhi**

**I can't do this**

**hes already freaking me out**

**what do i do?**

**From: Haruhi**

**just get it over with.**

**im going back to bed.**

**let me know how it goes**

**at a decent time please.**

Mei sighed and put her phone in her purse.

"What was that about?"

"Oh I was just texting Haruhi. She was stressing over some new case she just got for work."

"Oh. Okay."

After about fifteen minutes of ordering whatever sounded halfway edible and awkward small talk between the two, Mei finally took charge.

"Alright I can't do this." She put her napkin down and stood from her chair.

Kasanoda's eyes widened as he went into panic mode. "Woah woah woah. What the hell - What's wrong?"

Mei pulled her long blond hair over one shoulder and sighed. "I know why we are here." She looked down and stared blankly at him. "You're going to ask me to marry you."

He stood at this point too. "Wha- How did you-"

"All dressed up. Fancy restaurant that we've never been too. Way more chivalric than you've ever been, even if you've always been a bit of a gentleman to me. Oh and you're being very quiet. Usually we can talk about anything and have hour long conversations. Today we can barely hold small talk for thirty seconds."

Kasanoda had calmed down quite a bit and was talking quietly now. "Wait . . . So does this mean you don't want to-"

Mei stretched her arms and smiled. "Okay so here's the deal. I like you. I like you a lot. Enough to say I love you and mean it. Because I do. I love you, Ritsu. But there's no way in hell that I'm going to let you propose to me. Especially because of the setting we're in. You're practically setting me up to say yes because if I say no people will feel bad for you and call me a bitch."

"What?! That's not what I-"

"I know that's not what you were intending at all. Calm down. I wasn't finished." She took a breath and continued calmly but sternly. "So this is what's going to happen. Since I now know that you want to marry me just as much as I want to marry you, we are going to elope. Sometime this month. Yes, I will take your last name. I want to. But I just don't think I'm anywhere near ready to have an actual ceremony just yet. We will do all of the legal stuff now and then if we decide that we want a ceremony, it will be a small one with just our closest friends and a few family members. I don't want anything big since we both know that neither of us are the most sociable people. . . Oh yeah and since we're getting married, I would like to put out a disclaimer that the topic of kids is not a thing yet. If I don't mention it within the next two years then you have the right to than that, no kids for now."

Kasanoda just stood their, jaw slack and eyes wide, completely washed in a wave of astonishment.

Mei walked forward and waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Ritsu. Did any of that register with you?"

After a moment, he grabbed her hand and linked their fingers. He looked back at her and smiled. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?" He leaned forward and pulled her into a long kiss. "You've got yourself a deal, babe."

Mei laughed and draped her arms around his neck. "Time to make me a mob wife."

"You're still gonna get me a ring, right?"

"Actually, it was about to come out with the next batch of wine."

Mei snorted and hit him on the shoulder. "You're such a damn sap. I probably would've choked on it. It better be gorgeous enough for the wine not to ruin it."

"Oh it is. Haruhi helped me pick it out."

"What the hell! She was in on your side! I thought she was on my side. So she was just playing dumb?"

"I guess she's not as bad of an actress as everyone makes her out to be."

"I can't believe she played me like that!"

"Oh calm down, mob wife."

"You calm down, sissy florist."

"I love you so much."

"Oh shut up." She leaned in and kissed him again while smiling.

* * *

She rubbed her palm over her face and let out a long sigh. "Red."

Silence.

"Blue."

Nothing.

"Cow."

The infant tilted his head like a puppy.

"Mommy? Daddy? Anything but piyo-piyo . . . Are you doing this on purpose?"

Katsuo continued to look questioningly at his mother.

"No. Of course you aren't. You're speaking sooner than we ever thought you would. I shouldn't be complaining. Although this whole one word only nonsense is driving me insane."

Just then a loud crash was heard from another room followed by the shrill screams of two small children.

"Yukimi! Adrian! What's going on in there!?"

Katsuo went into a fit of giggles at his mother's exasperation.

"Okay now i'm convinced you're doing this on purpose." Sofia got up and walked into the hallway only to be run into by her two older children.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

"Kimi did it!"

"I jus waneda make a castle for Angus!"

Sofia laughed and crouched down to Yukimi's level. "How about this? You stop making the castle in your room and we make an even bigger one for all of us in the living room. How does that sound?"

Yukimi squealed and Adrian ran off without a moment's hesitation, leaving Sofia to go back to her still-giggling youngest.

"What's so funny?"

He just looked up at his mother and reached his arms out to be picked up. When Sofia didn't respond immediately, he started squealing and babbling and fidgeting. But still, no actual words.

"Alright let's go build a fort."

After about an hour of squealing, laughing, and falling over each other, Sofia was able to help the kids set up an extremely large fort in the living room. Once the fort was up, the kids made a sign that said "Castle M." for Morinozuka because they could barely pronounce their own last name, let alone spell it. Of the two talking children, Yukimi got closest to the pronunciation by saying "Mor-noz-ka." Adrian was always way off the mark with some incoherent string of letters that happened to have an M, a Z, and a K in it.

When everything was finally settled, the four of them gathered in the largest part of the fort and had snacks and told stories.

"Okay, so do you want Mommy to tell a story or do you two want to tell a story?" Sofia held Katsuo in her lap as she spoke between bites of a chocolate chip cookie.

Yukimi frowned and pointed at her youngest brother. "Whaddabout Katsuo? He speaks now too right Mommy? He can tell stories wit us!"

Sofia looked down at Katsuo. "So? Are you gonna tell a story Katsuo?"

The black haired boy (that looked almost exactly like his father, while his brother looked like his mother more and their sister was a perfect mix of the two) looked up at Sofia and giggled. He held up his arm, which had nothing on it other than a shirt sleeve, and smiled. "Piyo-piyo."

Sofia let out a dry laugh and kissed the top of his head. "Well, that's Katsuo's story. Who's next?"

Yukimi shot up her hand faster than the speed of light. "OoooH! Oooh! Pick me!"

Sofia giggled at her daughter's antics. "Okay, I pick you Yukimi."

Yukimi smiled and took a deep breath before starting her story.

"Okay so one time there was this one time with a place that int here iz far faraway from here and theres a big cazel thats huge and real pretty like the sky and uhm . . ."

She paused for a moment to catch her breath. "And uhm . . . She was uhm . . . There was a girl. Shes a princess. And uh she's got the hair. The hair that looks like the color of the little circle fruits that you don't eat the outside for because iz real yucky."

"Orange?"

"Yeah! Thatsa one! Okay so uhm . . . She iz a princess. And uhm . . . She haz da fruits hair. And iz real real curlz like my hair but more curlziez. And shes got the horsie and his named Angus like Angus . . . "

Adrian stood up at this point and put his hands on his hips. "Mommy! Kimi's jus sayin the Brave thingy!"

"Am not!"

"Am too!"

"No I'm not, Adrian!"

"Oh yeah! Then waz the fruit lady's name!?"

Yukimi screamed and sat down. "MERIDA IS A REAL POPLAR NAME!"

"Okay okay. Calm down. Yukimi are you done telling your story?"

Yukimi just crossed her arms and looked away. "Fine."

Adrian then stood back up and shouted. "Mommy! 'S my turn now!"

"Go ahead Adrian. Let's hear your story."

"Okay so okay so therez a person and he is flying and the boom! and he was being a butt and he sayz 'I cut the wings!' and then he flying away and then the chipses flips over the cloud and then ROOOAAAAARRRR! AND then . . . "

Adrian paused his intricate story to take a long breath. "Okay! So! Uhm . . . Oh! I's outside yezerday and I seen a roly poly. And I build it a little house outta sticks and mud."

He completely lost his entire train of thought. "Oh! and then I told the budfly that the dragonz gonna 'splode the world! And then the roly poly's house went away."

Sofia couldn't contain her laughter by the end of her son's completely incoherent story telling abilities.

"Mommy! Thiz a serious story!"

"Sorry sorry. It was a very wonderful story Adrian."

Feeling accomplished, Adrian smiled wide and sat back down in his spot in the fort.

Yukimi looked back at the group and spoke up. "Okay. Mommy's turn!"

"Well my stories are no where near as good as yours!"

"That's cuz they're a bagillion times better!"

"Well what do you guys want to hear?"

Adrian furrowed his brows in deep thought before shooting his hand up to the sky. "Oh! I know!"

"Yes, Adrian?"

"You godda telluz the story of how you and Daddy are in love!"

"So do you want to know how Daddy and I met? Or how we started dating?"

Yukimi cocked her head like a puppy. "What's dating?"

"How we fell in love."

Yukimi nodded and smiled. "Both!"

"Alright. Here goes."

Sofia sat up and shifted Katsuo in her lap so that she was more comfortable.

"So about seven years ago, I was still living in Puerto Rico."

"Mommy, what's that?"

"It's in another country."

"Wait, Mommy's not from here?"

Sofia laughed. "No. Daddy's from here. I'm from a place far away called Puerto Rico."

"So you're like Merida!"

"Sure, Kimi."

Sofia paused and waited for the questions to stop before continuing. "So. About seven years ago, in the far off land of Puerto rico, I was working at a petshop that my Mommy and Daddy owned."

Adrian and Yukimi said "woaaaahh." in unison while Katsuo giggled and crawled out of his mother's lap.

"So one day I was working in the store and then Daddy walked in holding a tiny puppy that he found wandering outside without anyone to take care of it. Daddy was on vacation in Puerto Rico with his family so he didn't know where to take the puppy so he just brought it to my store since it was the closest."

Yukimi moved over and latched onto Angus, and the dog looked up and then set his head back down as if nothing happened.

"So I helped take care of the puppy with Daddy's help and then we got it back to its home. And that's how I met Daddy. Now for the love part. So that day I showed him around town a little bit because he didn't really know where anything was. After that we went our separate ways for the night. Then every day for the next week, Daddy came back to see me and help out at the pet store. I thought it was really sweet of him to help out so I offered to take him out to dinner at the end of the week."

"Did Daddy say yes!?"

"Of course he did, Adrian. If he didn't then the three of you wouldn't be here. So he said yes but insisted to pay for it. He tried his best to be a gentleman but I wouldn't let him pay. And it's not like I was taking him anywhere fancy. So that night I took him to the best bar in town. It served the best drinks and all the food was home cooked. As a foreigner I knew he had never experienced my culture fully so I had to take him there."

Yukimi looked up. "Mommy. Whassa forner?"

"Someone who isn't from here."

"Then Daddy isn't a forner, you are."

"When Daddy is in my home town, he is a foreigner."

"Oh okay."

"So I took him to that bar and we had a great time. He enjoyed the food and the two of us talked all night. And we both drank a bit too. Probably more than we should have."

"Whadyou drink?"

"Grown up juice."

"Sounds gross."

"Good. I'm glad you think so."

Sofia took a breath before continuing. "So we drank and talked all night, even after we finished eating and there were a lot of other people in the bar too. And they were drinking a lot more than Daddy and me. And they were forgetting to use their manners a lot. Like they were being rude to the waitresses there, so I decided to get up and help the waitresses out. So I went over to where the rude people were and I asked them to be a little nicer to the waitresses. I told them to either be nice or leave. But instead of doing either of those things, the rude people decided to be rude to me too."

"No one's 'lowed to be rude to Mommy!"

Sofia laughed and continued. "And that's what Daddy thought too. See, Daddy didn't want me going over to the rude people to begin with. He said that he would take care of it, but I wouldn't let him. So when they started being rude and gross to me, Daddy got really upset and came over too. Daddy didn't fully understand what they were saying because they were speaking Spanish, which is the language I use whenever you make me mad. So I kept telling Daddy not to worry about it and that I had it under control. Then one of the rude people started being mean to Daddy too and then he tried to hit Daddy-"

Yukimi and Adrian burst out into laughter, causing Katsuo to break out into a fit of giggles too. "No one can hit Daddy. Daddy's too strong for that!"

"Well he didn't hit Daddy. I didn't let him. I grabbed the rude guy's arm and flipped him over the table. I think I broke his back, but I'm not really sure. Needless to say, he left me, Daddy, and the waitresses alone. And the other rude people left too."

"Mommy's strong too!?"

"Well of course I am! I'm married to Daddy and I have to deal with you three every day. I have to be strong. But anyways. After I beat up that rude guy, I grabbed Daddy's hand and we left the bar. And then instead of going our separate ways again, we decided to head to the beach. So we went to the beach and sat there and talked until it was really late and dark outside. And then before we left, Daddy looked at me and asked about what happened at the bar -

_\- "So . . . About what happened at the bar . . ." He looked over at Sofia._

" _What about it?" Sofia smiled at him and cocked her head._

" _Why didn't you just let me take care of that guy?"_

_Sofia laughed and shrugged. "Well I think it's pretty obvious at this point that I can take care of myself, Takashi. There was no way I was gonna let myself be the damsel in distress for some guy I just met that week."_

" _I still think it would've been better if I would've taken care of him sooner."_

" _I dunno. It was pretty fun to take out a sleazebag like him. And plus if you would've stepped in, all of those girls would've been all over my handsome date."_

_Takashi laughed and then silence fell between the two as they stared at the stars and listened to the tide roll in._

" _So, you're going back to Japan tomorrow?"_

_Takashi waited to speak for a moment. "No."_

" _What? I thought you said your family is heading back tomorrow."_

" _Doesn't mean I have to. I already graduated college so I don't have anywhere to be until my dad decides to make me the family head. And that probably won't be until I'm married."_

" _So are you just going to stay here . . . At your family beach house?"_

_Takashi looked over to Sofia again and smiled softly at her. "I guess so."_

" _Well why. If I were you, no obligations or responsibility, I would get out of here as quick as possible. Try to find my place, you know?"_

" _That's what I did. I found my place already."_

" _You can't tell me it's in this crummy town helping out at the pet shop everyday."_

" _Not necessarily."_

" _Than what is the great Takashi Morinozuka's place in this world?"_

_He paused and looked out at the dark water in front of them. "By your side."_

_Sofia's eyes went wide and her face was red enough to light up the space between them. She took a moment to compose herself before she giggled and leaned in to kiss him._

" _I like that place. I have no problem with that at all."_

\- And we talked about it for a little while. And then he said some really sweet things to me. And then we kissed."

"Eeeeeeeeewwww! Kissings'not allowed. Thaz icky!" Yukimi and Adrian both showed their protest to the last part of their mother's story.

Sofia burst out into hysterical laughter. "You were the ones that asked how Daddy and I fell in love!"

"It's been a while since I've thought about that day." Takashi ducked under the blankets and sat next to Sofia and Katsuo.

Sofia turned to her husband and kissed him, eliciting another batch of protesting noises from Yukimi and Adrian. "Oh, Kashi. You're home! I was just telling the kids about how we met."

"Even the part where you flipped the guy over the table, I heard."

Sofia laughed and nodded. "Yep. And Kimi told us a story about a princess that lives in a far off land and has curly orange hair. I wonder who that could be about."

Takashi laughed and Yukimi ran over and jumped into her father's lap.

"And then Adrian told us a story about a lot of things. I'm actually not quite sure what happened but it was very exciting."

Adrian smiled wide at the mention of his fascinating story.

"Oh and Katsuo told us a story too, right sweetie?" Sofia looked down at Katsuo, who had crawled back into her lap during her story.

The small boy giggled and held up his arm to once again say "Piyo-piyo."

"That seems to be his favorite story."

* * *

_Bella Takes Disney - Day 1_

"CASTLE CASTLE CASTLE!"

Natalia turned to look at her husband as their daughter ran down Main Street in magic kingdom. "Remind me why we are at Disney World instead of Universal Studios."

"Because this is the happiest place on Earth."

"But aren't we here for Harry Potter World?"

"It's called The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Nat. And who says we can't come here too?"

Nat sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "Maybe if the two were closer together I wouldn't have a problem with it. "

Kaoru laughed as he watched bella run up to some of the people dressed up as various characters. "Oh, come on Nat. They're only twenty minutes away from each other. And look how happy she is. Isn't 'Happy Bella' worth the trip?"

"I guess. As long as she doesn't go crazy. I don't think I'll be able to deal with her if she doesn't get what she wants here."

"She'll be fine. Like I said, we're in the 'happiest place on Earth.'

Isabella then came running back to her parents, wearing a fancy new tiara that she had obviously just gotten from a character. Kaoru crouched down to her level as she smiled up at them. "That's a really pretty tiara, Bella. Where'd you get it?"

Bella, who was out of breath from running, panted for a moment before speaking. "Dindrella. She- she said I's a pincess too and I should have a crown for me."

Nat moved over to the two and picked bella up, brushing the girl's long brown hair behind her ear. "I thought you didn't like disney princesses though."

Bella shook her head. "I don't. Disney pincesses is too dedestran (pedestrian) for me. I's a vivivised (civilized) cizen (citizen) of this 'munity (community)."

"Well if you're a civilized member of this community, why did you take a crown from Cinderella?"

She brought her hands up to the crown on her head and giggled. ""S pretty!"

Bella giggled for a moment more before calming down and focusing back on her parents. "I got the plan!"

Kaoru took Bella from Nat's arms and put her on top of his shoulders as they walked through Magic Kingdom. "What plan?"

Bella wrapped her hands around her father's head and leaned forward. "M'kay. So we godda be better than Dindrella. S'we godda take her Castle."

Nat looked over at Bella. "Wait are you saying you want to stay in cinderella's castle? Instead of the hotel we're at now?"

Bella turned to her mother and nodded. "Less we're stayin in Hogwarz."

"Well I don't think that is entirely possible . . . So I guess Cinderella's castle it is."

Operation "Be Better Than Cinderella" complete.

Bella Takes Disney - Day 7

Every day this week, Bella has been lively and energetic. She hasn't thrown a fit. She hasn't cried at all. She hasn't even asked for anything on the lines of souvenirs that any other child wouldn't ask for.

But most importantly - she hasn't mentioned Harry Potter. Not once.

Until now.

"Why we not gonna see Hawry Podder Land?"

Bella swung her feet back and forth on her personal king sized bed as he parents continued to get ready for the day in the bathroom a few feet away.

Both Kaoru and Natalia stopped in the middle of what they were doing and swore under their breath. Nat turned to her husband and sighed.

"We were so close. Of all days she had to choose the last day to bring it up."

"I mean . . . That is why we came here in the first place."

"Yeah but we were having so much fun here. I was actually enjoying this time away from work."

Bella then walked over to the bathroom and sat on the edge of the oversized bathtub. "We gonna go b'fore we go home?"

There wasn't much else to do other than fulfill Bella's wishes. So, to Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure they went.

Screaming.

Squealing.

Running.

Jumping.

Bella never stopped. As soon as the family of three entered the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Isabella fell into a completely overwhelming state of bliss. Nothing could make her upset now.

At least . . . Not yet.

"I godda get tha robes!"

"But which ones? There are like four different kinds. I can't believe they even have ones small enough to fit you . . ."

"Lithwen!"

"What?" Kaoru looked at his daughter, confused, as she reached out from his arms.

Bella reached out to tug on the robes clad with green and silver embroidery and lining. "Lithwen!"

Kaoru pulled out one that was in her size and read the embroidered patch on the front that held a snake in the center. "Slytherin? Isn't that where all the bad guys go?"

Bella squealed in protest. "No! Lithwen's tha cool one wit all tha cool peoples. I'm a lithwen! Cuz I'm cool! But I's not bad!"

"Okay okay. Let's get this for you then. Do you want anything else before we get in line?"

Isabella threw her arms in the air and smiled wide. "All of it! All the Lithwen thingies!"

And so they left the main gift store twenty minutes later. Bella was dressed in her full Slytherin robes while her parents carried two large bags of Slytherin items. Items such as a scarf, gloves, a hat, a mug, a blanket, a three different backpacks (mind you Bella isn't in school yet), a stuffed Basilisk, two different pillows, magnets, three sweatshirts, five t-shirts, pajamas, and also a lanyard for her non-existent set of keys. Of course there was more but I would be able to go on for days about just how much Bella got from that store. It was a miracle there were bags large enough to fit her spending spree.

But there was one thing she was missing.

A wand.

Her one hundred twenty-five dollar replica Draco Malfoy wand just wouldn't do for Miss Isabella Hitachiin.

She had to have the real thing. The full experience. The wand chooses the wizard.

Three hours.

Three long hours.

Three long hours in the bright sun and humid air of a summer day in Florida.

And finally she has the wand. It didn't take long to get the wand itself. The process was fairly simple and only took about ten minutes. The part that took up the most time was the waiting. Over one hundred fifty people in line to have "the wand choose the wizard." You would think after all these years, the lines would get smaller because the fans would become more scarce . . . but no.

But finally after three very irritable hours Bella finally had her personal wand. The only thing, though . . . was that her new wand . . . the one they waited what seemed like forever for . . . that wand happened to be nearly identical to the one she already had. Turns out Isabella was just "meant to have" Draco Malfoy's wand. Or one very similar to it.

"Bella, sweetie . . ." Nat held on to her daughter's hand as the small girl flicked her wand at random people in the street, shouting random curses at them. "You do realise that this wand is just like the one you have at home, right?"

Bella turned to her mother and pointed her wand at Natalia's face. "No! S'very difren! This wand chose me! 'Raco's wand chose him! Means they're difren Mommy! Pay 'tenshun to tha details nex time!"

Nat sighed and leaned on her husband as Bella broke away and ran to meet another person dressed as a character. "She's gonna grow out of this, right?"

Kaoru kissed the top of Nat's head and grabbed her hand. "Oh yeah. Of course. Don't worry about it, Nat."

A few minutes later, Bella came running back and started jumping up and down as soon as she reached her parents.

"RIDES RIDES RIDES! GODDA GO TA HOGWARZ!"

Natalia grabbed her daughter's hand and looked around the park. "I don't know if you'll be able to ride any of these rides, Bella. I think you're too little."

Bella dragged her mother along behind her as she approached the nearest ride. "Thaz jus silly! Course I'm big 'nough to ride the rides!"

After about another hour of running, laughing, and happiness, Bella returns to her begging, pleading, crying, screaming, tantrum throwing self. And now she will only talk to her father because she is upset with her mother . . . For being right.

Eventually Isabella wears herself out enough to end up quietly crying while lying face first on the hot ground in July in Orlando, Florida in the middle of a Harry Potter theme park.

Since it was getting to be later in the day and the park was relatively cleared out, save the few dedicated families of fans that wouldn't leave until closing time, it wasn't extremely dangerous and ridiculously unlikely that Bella would be able to faceplant in the the middle of the park.

Kaoru sat down next to his daughter and brushed her hair with his hands, making sure it wouldn't fall on the ground. . "Bella . . . Sweetie, you're gonna have to get up now."

Bella whined and curled up in a ball. "No!"

"We can come back next year so that you're bigger and able to ride the rides."

"Everyone is a big meanie jerk!"

"No don't say that, Bella. They're just following the rules. I promise we will keep coming back every summer until you are tall enough to ride the rides."

Isabella turned her head slightly to glance up at her father. "You promise?"

"I promise."

She then sat up and wiped her eyes off on her arm. "Okay. I like that idea."

Kaoru stood up and picked Bella up to carry her. "Now. Is there anything you want to do before we go home?"

She buried her face in her father's neck and shook her head. "I'm jus hungry."

Natalia walked up to the two and gestured to the road behind her. "Well there's a place back there that looked like a little restaurant. I think it was called the Three Broomsticks or something like that."

At the mention of The Three Broomsticks, Bella's head shot up and her eyes went wide. "We godda go there s'I can 'ave budderbeer."

She then tugged on her father's sleeve and pointed behind her mother. "Daddy, 's the last thing I wanna do!"

And so they went. As the last of their lengthy endeavors on their immensely troubling and stressful journey to please Mistress Isabella Hitachiin, the three next-generation Hitachiins made their way to the Three Broomsticks. Evidently the three did not leave until much past closing time as Bella wished to see just how much butterbeer her tiny body could hold. So, after about fifteen mugs of glorified butterscotch cream soda and a sugar rush that allowed her to run up and down the streets of Hogsmeade for twenty minutes straight, the three year old finally crashed allowing everyone to go home.

"You know . . . I'm kind of glad we did this. It was still ridiculous that we did it to practically attend to Bella's whims, but . . . It was nice." Natalia leaned against her husband as they enjoyed the peacefully quiet flight back to Italy.

Kaoru smiled and played with his wife's hair. "Yeah. This was really nice. I'm glad we actually got to spend some time with Bella. I'm glad she won't grow up like we did. She'll actually have parents that are always there for her. Well almost always."

"That's true. It'll be a shame if we get a divorce."

"Nat! Come on don't even joke about that."

"Alright I'm sorry." She moved up and kissed Kaoru lightly on the lips. "I love you and I know that neither of us is ever going to leave the other. Together forever like in those silly girl hits."

"Those what?"

"You know those movies that all the girls watch that are really silly and they all end the same way and make everyone sad."

"You mean chick flicks?"

"Is that what they're called?"

Kaoru sat up and turned to his wife. "Nat. How long have you been speaking English?"

Nat shrugged and turned to face him as well. "A long time I guess. Since I was ten I think."

"So you've been speaking English for around twenty years and you don't know the term 'chick flick'?"

"Oh don't make fun of me! You know English is not my first language!"

"It's not my first language either."

Nat punched him in the arm and went back to leaning against him. "Oh shut up. Just stay with me forever and stop making fun of me. Or else Bella won't be able to grow up with both parents all the time."

"So are you back to the whole divorce thing or are we talking about possibly murdering me?"

"I'll let Bella decide later."

"Harsh words, my dear."

The two of them laughed and snuggled in closer. "Oh shut up. I love you."

"I love you too, Nat." Kaoru glanced down at the slightly sleepy Natalia. "You're not gonna leave me for one of our models are you?"

Nat scrunched her nose and shook her head. "They're all too much like Chris. Why? Are you checking out our models? I mean, the guys all do have great asses and somehow every one of the girls has perfect hair."

Kaoru laughed and leaned his head on top of Nat's. "No. I don't need to check out asses or hair. I'm already married to a model anyways. I was just worried that my model wife was going to leave me for someone with washboard abs."

Natalia grabbed onto Kaoru's hand. "I won't leave if you won't. My lanky sunless ginger."

"Deal. My fit freckled brunette."

Nat sighed contently and began to doze off some more. "Hm. Together forever. Like in those silly girl hits."

"Like in the silly chick flicks."

"Yeah yeah. Whatever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DONE. GOODBYE. IM SPENT. ADIOS. AU REVOIR.
> 
> So like this story went from sweet to cliche to more cliche to even MORE CLICHE (with Takashi and Sofia's charming beach love story) AND THEN it went to potterhead haven. I'm not ashamed that I love harry potter and that I got to show that through bella.
> 
> Also I really loved writing the little bit with nat and kaoru at the end.
> 
> Now let's see who can spot the hardcore foreshadowing I placed in this chapter for the next chapter.
> 
> We'll find out soon!
> 
> See you guys next time for the biggest adventure I've written in this story yet!
> 
> Chapter 26 - The Day it Turned Back Into a Pumpkin
> 
> SEE YOU NEXT TIME!
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW!


	28. The Day it Turned Back Into a Pumpkin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't kill me. Don't sharpen your pitchforks.
> 
> Just remain calm.
> 
> This will not end badly . . . I hope.
> 
> P.s. - This chapter is relatively short because there is A LOT more to this situation that I plan on stretching out for a few chapters!
> 
> *throws chapter at you and runs away*
> 
> SIDE NOTE: I started this intending on making it Tamaharu central but since they are so vanilla and cutesy I've taken them out of the position of main couple. Every one of the host club members (minus honi since he's soooo difficult to write for) is a main character! This is officially an ensemble production folks!

September 8th, 2022

"Do you have to go? I mean, it seems a bit much to go for the whole week." She picked up his suitcase and followed him to the door. "You are just having a meeting with the fund's manager."

"Yeah, I know. But I thought it would be best if I just stayed there for the whole week so that I could get other meetings out of the way too. And people keep trying to pitch new clothing lines to me so I might as well see some of those too." He turned around to face his wife when he reached the door.

"Well, at least call me when you have free time okay?" She handed him his bag and kissed him on the lips. "And bring something back for Bella. We haven't taken her to Milan yet. I know it isn't that far away but it'd still be nice since she's going to miss you too."

"Sure thing, Hun." Kaoru smiled at Natalia and kissed her back. "I'll be back in a week, okay? Take good care of Bella while I'm gone."

He picked up his suitcase and was about to leave when he heard a small voice come from around the corner.

"Daddy?" A little girl with auburn hair and bright hazel eyes poked her head out from around the corner.

The younger twin laughed and smiled at her. "What are you doing up so early?"

When she knew she was noticed, Isabella giggled and ran towards her father. "I heard you and mommy talking, n' I can't sleep."

Kaoru picked her up and kissed her forehead. "Well, daddy was just getting ready to leave for his trip. Remember the weeklong trip I told you about?"

Bella threw her arms around Kaoru's neck and whined. "But I don't want you to go away. I want you to stay here, with me and mommy."

"Bella, I have to go. It's for work. I'll be back in a week though, I promise." He set her down and crouched down to the four year old's level. He smiled and pulled her into a quick hug. "Make sure mommy doesn't get into any trouble, okay? And if you're good while I'm gone, then I'll bring you back a present. How does that sound?"

The little girl squealed and hugged her father once more. "Okay, daddy. I'll miss you!"

Kaoru then stood up and Bella went over to her mother. Natalia picked her daughter up as Kaoru picked up his bags. "I'll be back in a week. You two take care of each other, okay?"

He kissed his wife and left the house. Nat stood in the doorway as he left. "Be careful!" She shouted after him. And with that, he was gone.

* * *

The week went by faster than she thought. He called her in between meetings and presentations. The three of them video chatted before Isabella went to bed every night.

Everything worked out great. And soon enough, Kaoru was on his way home.

His flight was at 10pm. About an hour later, he was back in the city that he and his wife and child currently resided in. Rome.

The younger of the Hitachiin twins had a car waiting for him so that he could drive himself home. Once in the car, he gave his wife a quick call.

"Hey Nat. I just got back to the airport. I'm on my way home right now. I'll be home in like ten minutes."

"Alright, see you soon. And try not to take longer than that because Bella refuses to sleep until you get home."

He laughed into the phone. "Okay, I'll be there soon don't worry. Okay. Yeah. Love you too. Bye."

* * *

_Ten minutes._

"Bella, sweetie. You know you don't have to sit by the window and wait for him. He'll be home soon."

"You said ten minutes, mommy. You just told me it's been ten minutes. Where is daddy?" She refused to look away from the window.

"He probably just got stuck in traffic. Why don't you come sit down with me? He should be here any minute now, okay."

_Fifteen minutes_

"Mommy, where is daddy? Why isn't he home yet?"

She brushed her daughter's hair as the little girl sat in her lap. "He'll be home soon don't worry."

_Twenty minutes_

Bella was falling asleep in her mother's lap. "M-mommy? Can you call daddy? I'm really tired but I wanna stay up for him."

Natalia sighed. " _He said ten minutes. Why is he taking this long? The airport isn't that far away._ "

"If he doesn't come home within the next ten minutes I'll call him. Okay?"

Bella nodded as she leaned against her mother's chest.

_Thirty minutes._

Bella had fallen asleep about five or so minutes ago, so Nat put her in her room.

"Where the hell is he? We barely live ten minutes from the damn airport. Why has this taken more than thirty?"

She was pacing the floor of the living room. After a moment, she decided to try and text him first.

"Maybe the airport traffic is just really backed up?"

Nat 11:32 pm – Hun, where are you? You said ten minutes and it's been more than thirty now. What's taking so long?

 _Forty minutes._. .

After ten minutes and no answer from Kaoru, she decided to try and call him. But before she could pick her phone back up, it started ringing.

She picked up the phone as fast as she could and answered it. She didn't even bother to look at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Mrs. Natalia Hitachiin?"

It wasn't him.

"Yes, this is. Who is this?"

When Natalia found out who was on the other line, her heart dropped. . .

" . . . Officer . . . sorry to inform . . . .your husband . . . drunk driver . . . hospital . . ."

Everything was blurred and muffled for Nat. But after have the man on the other line repeat himself a few times, she finally understood exactly what was happening.

The police had called to inform her that her husband was in a car wreck about thirty minutes ago. He had been hit by a drunk driver on a street right outside of the airport. He was being treated in the hospital as they spoke.

Nat could barely maintain her composure. As she spoke with the man on the other line, she struggled to choke back the sobs that threatened to rake her body.

After about ten minutes of explaining and information giving, the call was ended.

_He said ten minutes._

She dropped onto the couch behind her. Her elbows were propped on her thighs as she buried her face in her palms.

_He said he'd be home in ten minutes an hour ago._

Her cries became more audible but still muffled. She didn't want to wake her daughter up.

_But it wasn't even his fault._

Natalia got up off of the couch and went to put her shoes on.

"I can't leave Bella here alone."

_Maybe if he would've come home earlier . . . No. It wasn't his fault._

She regained her composure and went into her daughter's bedroom.

Nat walked over to the oversized bed and crouched down. She gently shook Bella's shoulder.

"Bella, honey. I need you to wake up now."

The young girl rubbed her eyes and sat up in her bed. "Is daddy home now?"

Natalia gave her a sad smile. "No, sweetie. He's not home. That's why I need you to wake up. We need to go see him."

Isabella frowned and stood up. "What? Where is he? Where are we going?"

Nat started putting Bella's shoes on for her and gave her a light coat to put on.

After a moment of silence, Nat stood up with Bella and lead her out of the room.

"Mommy, where are we going?"

She picked her daughter up and carried her out of the house after she grabbed her keys and coat.

"I told you, Bella. We're going to see Daddy."

A still sleepy Bella smiled at the thought of seeing her father and nodded before leaning her head against the edge of her car seat as her mother strapped her in. "Godda see Daddy."

* * *

He was breathing. Most of his vitals were normal. He was alive.

But he wasn't awake. He wasn't going to be awake for a while. No one could really tell how long he would be out. All the doctors could do was keep him alive until then.

Once she saw him, breathing but lifeless, she broke. Her free hand flew to her mouth as she began to cry once more. She held Bella in her other arm.

Bella frowned as they got closer to him. "Daddy? Daddy, wake up. You're supposed to be home right now." She leaned forward in her mother's arms and grabbed on to her father's hand. "Come on daddy, wake up." Bella looked back at her mother. "Mommy, why isn't daddy waking up?"

Natalia move her hand away from her mouth. While still crying, she spoke to her daughter. "He hurt his head, sweetie. We don't know when daddy's gonna wake up."

She set Isabella down, and the little girl stood on her toes at the side of the bed and used both hands to grab onto her father's hand.

Nat then went over to Kaoru's face and kissed his bandaged forehead. She ran her fingers through his hair that was not covered by bandages. He had bandages wrapped around his head, his neck, and some on one of his arms. His other arm had a few cuts on it but nothing major. Kaoru's bottom lip was stitched in the corner and the rest of his face had small cuts and bruises. Nat cupped his cheek in one of her hands and gently swiped her thumb across his face.

"Mommy?"

"Hm?" She looked over to her daughter, who was crying now too.

Bella refused to look away from Kaoru when she spoke. "Daddy's gonna wake up soon, right?"

Natalia quickly went over to her and crouched down to pull her into a hug. "Oh honey, I hope so."

* * *

The next day, in California.

"You know, you should come with me. He is your brother. Your twin brother. You should be there."

Hikaru sat in the windowsill while he downed another beer. "He's my twin brother. She called YOU first. I found out from her, through YOUR phone." He laughed sadly and looked back at Chris. "And look at me. My brother is in the hospital because of a head on collision with a drunk driver. He's in a fucking coma! And the only thing I do to cope with that is drink!"

He finished the beer and threw the bottle on the floor. He then grabbed another one from the case next to him and opened it. "I'm not going. I can't."

Chris glared angrily at Hikaru. "I found out first because Nat is my best friend. She needed comfort so she called me. Her husband, YOUR BROTHER, is in a coma right now! And she has to take care of Bella all on her own now." He walked over to Hikaru and took the bottle from him.

"And if you're so fucking pissed about drinking, then STOP! Kaoru would hate it if he knew you were acting like this."

This comment set Hikaru over the edge. "How would you fucking know?! He is MY brother! Not yours! Brother-in-law isn't the same, Chris! You don't know him well enough to say what he would think!" He kicked the pile of bottles on the floor and threw the unopened case at the wall.

He angrily ran his fingers through his hair as he continued. "And you know what, NEITHER DO I! I pushed him away and shut him out for five fucking years! The only reason I went to that stupid engagement dinner where we met was because my little sister forced me to! And now that I finally got my brother back into my life, he gets nearly killed by someone who was doing exactly what I've been doing since I got out of college. So why the hell should I show my face over there? Why should I piss my sister-in-law off by showing up in this condition?! And do you think I would let Bella see me like this?!" He glared back at Chris. "I'm not going. End of story."

"You're making a mess."

"Are you serious right now?"

"I'm not cleaning up your mess this time, Hikaru. Get your act together. Now."

"Don't even -"

"Were you in Italy within this past week?"

"No."

"When is the last time you touched alcohol before you found out about Kaoru?"

"I don't know . . . A month ago?"

"Were you the one driving the car that hit your brother?"

"No."

Chris walked away from Hikaru and pulled out another bag. He then went to the closet and started throwing random outfits of Hikaru's into the bag.

"Chris, what the hell are you doing? I said I'm not going to Italy."

Chris refused to talk to Hikaru as he finished packing the second bag. He then walked over to the older twin again and started picking up all of the beer bottles surrounding him. "You're coming with me. I don't care what kind of bullshit excuses you come up with. Nat needs me and Bella needs you."

He paused once he had most of the mess cleaned up. "That little girl absolutely adores you. Facing something as traumatizing as this at a young age is awful. She needs her uncle, especially because you're her father's twin."

Hikaru sat in silence for a moment and then turned back to the window. "I'm not letting Isabella see me like this."

"Then go take a fucking shower and stop letting yourself get shit-faced drunk! Your drinking is not helping anyone. Stop being a fucking baby and get ready to go. We have a plane to catch in an hour."

'The twin got up and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Chris remained in the bedroom and finished packing.

* * *

A day later, back in Boston.

Haruhi had gotten home from work earlier than usual. She finished all of her work early so she was able to leave. She was now at home in the kitchen, helping Tamaki do the dishes.

She dried off the plate she had just washed and handed it to her husband. "So you really don't have any meetings this month?"

He laughed and put the dish away. "None at all. These past few months have been pretty slow, and no new deals are coming in yet so there isn't any need for me to travel to Japan."

"But everything is still going well, right?"

Tamaki smiled at his wife. "Haruhi, I'm pretty sure even the kids would know if it wasn't going well." He took another plate to put away. "After all, everyone seems to say that I am one for the dramatics."

She laughed and continued to wash cups and plates. "Yeah, you have a point."

*Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. Bzzzz*

A phone started ringing from the other counter.

*Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. Bzzzz*

Tamaki gestured to the phone. "That's yours, Haruhi. Mine is upstairs charging."

Haruhi then dried off her hands and went to pick up the phone. "Oh it's just Nat."

She answered the phone and leaned against the counter. "Hey Nat. What's up?"

Tamaki looked over at Haruhi as she listened to Natalia speak. After a moment, he frowned slightly and then continued to put the dishes away. Natalia sounded upset and stressed, and Tamaki was curious as to why.

After a moment, Haruhi gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my God. How did that happen?"

Haruhi now looked worried as Natalia continued to speak.

"Alright, yeah. We'll try to get there as soon as possible. Of course we'll bring the twins. It would be great for Bella to have someone to play with. Oh, okay. Sofia is bringing Adrian, too? What about Yukimi and Katsuo? Oh, they're staying in Japan with Mori? That's great. Alright. Everything will be alright, Nat. Hang in there. Okay. Bye"

"Haruhi, what was that about? Nat sounded really upset. And why did you talk about bringing the kids over?"

Haruhi turned to Tamaki as he put some dishes away in the kitchen. "It's Kaoru. He's in the hospital right now. Apparently he's in a coma. . ."

Tamaki's eyes grew wide and he stopped what he was doing almost immediately. "What?! How the hell did that happen?"

Haruhi ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "Apparently he was in a car accident on his way home from the airport. He got hit by a drunk driver."

"Oh my God. That's terrible. Nat must be completely devastated. . .I wonder if Hikaru knows . . ." He paused for a moment and then finished putting the dishes away. "Haruhi. I know they're our friends and Nat may need us right now . . . but we can't take the kids to Italy. They just started school."

"Come on, Tamaki. We need to go. Nat and Bella are both complete emotional wrecks right now. It would be best for Bella if she had some other kids to hang out with."

"But Isabella is only four. It's not like the twins are the same age as her. Will they even be able to play together?"

"They're all little kids. They have gotten along fine in the past, so what would change that now?"

"But we can't just take them out of school for a week."

Haruhi started to walk out of the kitchen. "Yes we can. And that's what I'm about to do. I'm going to pick them up. The school day is almost over anyways." She looked back at her husband before she left. "Why don't you pack for us while I'm gone?"

* * *

"Hi Mommy!" The twins shouted to their mother in unison and ran into her arms.

"Where's Daddy? Are you home from work already?"

Haruhi grabbed the twins' hands in either of her own and responded to her son. "I got off early today. And Daddy is at home packing right now."

Akemi frowned and whined at her other side. "Does Daddy have to go on another work trip?"

They got to the car, and Haruhi strapped the twins in. "No, not this time. He's actually packing for all of us. We're gonna go to Italy for the week to see Nat and Kaoru."

The twins smiled and cheered at this news and giggled with excitement all the way home. Haruhi gave them a sad smile and started to drive.

* * *

"Come on Bella, sweetie. We have to get dressed. We're gonna have some visitors soon."

Isabella was sitting in the corner of her bed holding a teddy bear that Kaoru got her for her fourth birthday. "Are they coming to talk to us about Daddy?"

Natalia went over to her daughter's bed and sat next to her. "A little bit yeah. But they're coming over to just hang out with us too. Haruhi and Tamaki are coming over with Antoine and Akemi. And Sofia is bringing Adrian."

Bella smiled a little bit when she heard Adrian's name, but then went back and just stared at her teddy bear while frowning. "But what about Oji. . . " She never said Hikaru when referring to her uncle. She always just called him "Hika" or "Oji."

Nat smiled and pulled Bella onto her lap. "Yes, he's should be coming over too. He should be here soon with Zio." Bella also knew Chris as her uncle, but since her mother is Italian, and so is he, she had always referred to Chris as Zio while she referred to Hikaru as Oji. Bella smiled at this news.

"So are you gonna get dressed now? Or are you gonna stay in your pajamas all day?"

With that, Bella shot up from her mother's lap and started to get dressed. Nat smiled and laughed before walking out of the room.

"I'm gonna be cleaning up in the living room, okay? Don't forget to brush your teeth, Bella. And remember, don't bite down on the toothbrush. It doesn't work that way."

* * *

"Mommy?" Bella whined as she played with her toys in the living room. "When are Oji and Zio gonna get here? I'm bored."

"They'll be here in a minute sweetie. They're just dropping their bags off at the hotel."

Isabella stopped playing and frowned up at her mom. "But why aren't they staying here? Can't they just stay in the extra room? We got lotsa room here."

She pulled Bella up into her lap again and began to put the top layer of her hair into pigtails. "I guess they wanted to stay in the hotel instead. You can ask them when they get here, how about that?"

*Knock knock knock*

Nat pulled Bella's hair through the hair-tie as they heard a knock at the door. Once she was finished, Bella jumped up and ran to the door. "Is it them?!" She reached up to open the door and smiled as she saw Hikaru and Chris standing in the doorway. "Zio! Hika!"

Isabella ran and gave Chris a hug and a kiss and then jumped straight into Hikaru's arms. The older twin laughed and picked Bella up and kissed her on the cheek. "How's my little Bells doin?"

She giggled at the nickname he used for her as Hikaru carried her into the house. Natalia had just walked over to the door to join in on the greetings.

Chris gave Nat a sad smile and pulled her into a tight embrace once everyone was inside. "Come here. Everything will be alright Nat. We're here for you."

Nat began to quietly cry into her best friend's shoulder as the embrace continued. "I'm so glad you were able to come over. . . "

Bella noticed her mother crying so she got out of Hikaru's arms and went to tug on her mother's pants leg. "Mommy. Don't cry. Hika and Zio are here so now Daddy will be all better soon." She smiled up at Natalia and hugged her leg.

Nat knelt down to Bella's height and smiled. "You're right, Bella. Daddy will be all better soon."

She kissed her daughter's forehead. "Why don't you go show Oji your new toys?"

The girl nodded and giggled. She then ran back over to Hikaru and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the couch.

As Hikaru was being dragged into the living room, Nat smiled at him and mouthed "Thank you."

Hikaru sat down on the couch while Bella picked up each individual toy from the pile she had on the floor, and explained what it was to her uncle.

"This one is one that Sofia made for my birthday last year." She held up a small stuffed bunny and handed it to Hikaru. He smiled and laughed as she handed him toy after toy.

"And this is the one Haruhi and Tamaki got me for Christmas. And mommy got me this one when she went to Lon-lon (London) last month. It talks to me like a real baby! See!" She pressed a small button on the doll's hand and it said 'mama' to her.

She giggled and picked up more toys. She was nearing the end of the pile by this point. "Oh and this one is what you and Zio got me when I turned four, remember?" She pushed a large dollhouse forward and opened it up showing a small family that was spread about the house doing different things. "When mommy and daddy play with me, they are mostly the babies and I'm the mommy and daddy." She then picked up the teddy bear she was holding earlier this morning. She went over and sat in Hikaru's lap. "This is the teddy bear that Daddy got me for my birthday. When I got it, Daddy wanted to know what his name was. He told me to name him something that makes me smile." She turned and looked up at Hikaru and smiled at him. "So, I named him Hika-chan because you make me smile, Oji!"

Hikaru laughed and hugged his niece tightly. "Awe, Bells. That's really sweet of you!" He kissed her on the cheek, causing her to giggle. "You make me smile too!"

She smiled and held the bear in front of her. "Hika-chan. Say hi to Oji." She held the bear up to Hikaru and spoke in a funny voice. "Hi, Oji! I'm Hika-chan! Bella says to me how great you are!"

The older twin laughed loudly and started to tickle Bella. "Then I guess she didn't tell you that I'm the tickle monster!"

Bella squealed and laughed hysterically as Hikaru tickled her. After a moment of that, Hikaru picked her up and put her on his back. "Let's go on a ride to your room. You have more toys in there, right?"

She nodded and giggled as he carried her to her room. Her room was very large, especially for a four year old, and there was an entire wall of toys. He turned around once he set her down to see an entire wall of clothes as well. It was suitable for a child of fashion. Hikaru then sat down on her enormous bed, which seemed slightly smaller than it actually was because of the room, and watched as she pulled out more toys.

After a moment of looking through her toys, Bella came back to Hikaru with a frown on her face. She held a stuffed animal out to her uncle. "Kimi-chan is hurt. Her stuffing is falling out because of the cut on her tummy."

Hikaru frowned and held out his hands to hold the stuffed baby doll. "Here. Lemme see." He looked at the tear and smiled up at Bella. "This is an easy fix. Wait here."

Hikaru got up and poked his head out of Bella's bedroom doorway. "Hey, Nat." Natalia turned to look at him as she was talking to Chris. "Do you happen to have a sewing kit? One of Bella's dolls is ripped."

She nodded and went to go get the kit and Chris raised his eyebrows at the twin. "Since when do you know how to sew?"

Hikaru rolled his eyes at his husband and sighed. "Really, Chris. You do know who my mother is, right?"

Chris laughed. "Point taken."

Natalia then returned with a small sewing kit in hand and gave it to Hikaru.

He then went back into the room and began to fix the rip in the doll while Bella watched him.

While Hikaru was fixing her doll, Bella spoke up. "Hika?"

"Yeah, Bells?"

"Mommy told me that people would be coming over to talk about Daddy getting hurt. Is that why you and Zio are here?"

"Well that's one of the reasons. We came to make sure you and your mommy had some company to make you feel better. But we also came because we wanted to see you two. I missed you, Bells."

She leaned against Hikaru's arm as he continued to sew. "But me and mommy don't need to feel better. Daddy needs to feel better. He promised he would be home yesterday."

Once he finished, he gave her the doll and pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "I know, Bells. I know. He'll be alright though. Your dad is strong; he'll make it through this."

She looked up at her uncle. "But, you're strong too right? You're Daddy's twin so you are strong like him, right?"

Hikaru laughed and looked down at Bella. "He's a lot stronger than I'll ever be, Bella. Trust me."

Christian and Natalia were standing in the doorway, watching the two interact.

Nat smiled and leaned against her best friend. "She really needed this. Bella absolutely adores Hikaru. I'm glad you convinced him to come."

Chris sighed as he watched Hikaru and Bella. "He needed this too. I was barely able to get him to stop drinking long enough to get here. This whole incident with Kaoru brought him right back to square one."

Natalia frowned. "Oh . . . Can you make sure he doesn't drink while you two are here? That would just cause so much trouble . . . Especially because that's the reason Kaoru's in the hospital."

Christian smiled and hugged his best friend. "I'll do my best Nat. I'll do my best."

The two stood in the doorway still watching Hikaru and Bella play together. After a moment, Chris laughed.

Nat played with Chris's hair and laughed. "I like this. When did you dye it?"

"Not too long ago. I wanted to do something different."

"Well it sure is different. I don't think I've ever seen you with black hair. The darkest I've seen is my shade. But I like it."

"Thanks Nat."

"So if you ever have kids what color hair will they have?"

"Definitely periwinkle. No but if I really were to have my way, every single kid I have will have the exact same hair color as our husbands. I love Hikaru and Kaoru's hair. Of course Hikaru's is a little darker right now because he dyed it. But I love their natural color."

"I agree. That's why I'm glad Bella has more of her father's hair color than mine."

The two fell back into a comfortable silence as they watched the two in the other room continue to play with stuffed animals and millions of outfits.

"I can't believe we're gonna have our own soon."

Natalia looked over at Christian. "I almost forgot about that. When is she due?"

"Well since this one is his and that took a lot of convincing we started later than planned. So she's still got another five months to go."

"Wait . . . This one is his biological child? Are you sure about that?"

Chris laughed and shrugged it off. "Yeah we're sure. It's kind of a test, ya know. A kid with his temperament will be a lot more to handle than one with mine. If we can handle this first kid, we'll have another and that one will be mine. I'm sure we'll be fine. He's not as bad as you think Nat. He just needs some help every once and a while . . . whether or not he is willing to accept it is the only hard part."

Nat leaned against Chris and smiled. "I'm glad that you two are starting a family. It'll give Bella someone to play with."

"I'm just glad we're able to be here now. You two do seem to be handling this better than I thought you would be."

"Well taking care of Bella takes my mind off of it, really. And Bella isn't really sure what's going on. She just knows that he's hurt. But she's convinced that he's not really hurt and that he'll be home in no time. I just hope she's right."

"I have to say that I love that about kids. They always have a positive outlook on everything."

* * *

He was breathing. He was alive. But he wasn't awake.

He looked at his brother, breathing but lifeless, and gave him a sad smile.

"Hey Kaoru. I know you probably can't hear me right now, but I just came to say hi."

He paused for a moment and walked over to the bed.

Breathing but lifeless.

"I wasn't going to come and see you. But Chris made me. He said that I had to because you're my brother and that you would come see me if the roles were reversed. . . At least you can tell that I married a decent guy."

He rubbed his hand over his face and sighed. It felt like he was talking to air. "I didn't want to come because I felt guilty. When I found out how this happened, the only thing I knew to do was drink all of my problems away. If you lived in California, I could have been the one that caused this. And that thought kills me."

Hikaru tried to think of something to say. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had to say something. "Isabella is adorable. You've been raising a great little girl . . . She looks more like Nat though. But she does have your eyes. Well, I guess that means she has my eyes too. But she really is great, Kaoru. Actually, she's the reason Chris and I are having a kid soon. I know I already told you, but yeah. I'm actually gonna be a dad, too . . . And I really need you to wake up soon because I'm not going to rely on Tamaki to help me with parenting. No way in hell . . ."

The older twin sighed and sat on the edge of the bed and looked at his younger twin with tears starting to form in his eyes. "I'm a mess, Kaoru. And I know we've been getting back what we lost, but I just can't seem to keep my act together, and I know I really need to now. . . I'm- I'm sorry . . I'm so sorry that I pushed you away and treated Nat like shit and ruined everything for so long. I just. . . I need you to come back to us, Kaoru. We all need you to come back. Your wife. Your daughter. Everyone. We all need you back."

He paused for a moment and regained his composure. "I think I finally get what you mean about the carriage and the pumpkin . . ."

Hikaru got up from the bed and walked towards the door. "And I don't think that the start of my screw ups was when the carriage turned back." He paused.

"I think the day you ended up here. . . was the day that it finally turned back into a pumpkin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so. Like. Yeah. There is a lot more to this. I'm not telling you if or when he is waking up. Send me your guesses.
> 
> Some of it might seem OOC and I'm sorry if it does i just tried my utmost to make sure they all responded as they would to the situation so don't hate.
> 
> I've had this written for MONTHS so there was a lot of editing involved.
> 
> As I said at the beginning, this situation will span at least two chapters total maybe three or four. I haven't really decided yet. I have more of a framework written than the exact details.
> 
> I'm sorry if some of the conversations seemed off topic but I only did that to show just how much Nat has to NOT think about the situation to be okay. She will do everything she can to not think about what is really happening so a lot of random conversations will happen.
> 
> But don't worry. The next chapter will have some on topic arguments for sure.
> 
> See ya next time! (I hope)
> 
> Chapter 27 - Like in the Chick Flicks.
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW!
> 
> PS - We've passed halfway with this! Only 24 more chapters until we say goodbye!
> 
> Well we'll have a mini multi chapter fic after this but that'll only be 15 chapters at max.
> 
> SEE YA!


	29. Bottled Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm out of school for the summer. More time to write. I found my muse again. I apologise for my absence but I'm back so no worries. I wrote this while listening to the game of thrones soundtrack on repeat so yeah. Also i wrote this in between game of thrones episodes because I'm rewatching it for my brother since he just started watching it. So this may seem monologue-y and dramatic and shit like that but i like it.
> 
> This chapter is full of emotions, monologues, crying, yelling, and tension that could be cut with a knife. Literally. So I hope you enjoy this next chapter. All ten thousand plus words of it. Sorry if some things seems a bit out of character but honestly people don't act like themselves when the ones they love are seconds away from death.

_Hikaru got up from the bed and walked towards the door. "And I don't think that the start of my screw ups was when the carriage turned back." He paused._

" _I think the day you ended up here. . . was the day that it finally turned back into a pumpkin."_

He lingered by his brother's bedside for a moment longer, eyes closed and breath still.

"I'm gonna be honest . . . I didn't exactly expect you to show up." A voice came from somewhere nearby. Hikaru opened his eyes, about to turn toward his brother in hopes that he woke up, but he saw a figure in the doorway. "I thought you would be to upset, and honestly drunk, to catch a flight over here."

* * *

"I still can't believe we just dropped everything to fly to Italy."

"And I still can't believe that you're acting like it was unnecessary to do so." Haruhi turned to her husband on the plane. "I thought you of all people would do anything to help a friend in need. What happened to mister 'make sure everyone is happy'? What happened to him?"

Tamaki sighed and rubbed his eyes. "He got married, had kids, and finally had to take on some real responsibilities. I'm still terribly upset for Nat and Kaoru and Bella . . . But not every problem can be fixed by dropping everything and flying across the sea. And plus he's in the hospital anyways. It's not like we can do anything to get him out."

Haruhi stared at Tamaki for another minute. "You don't want to see him, do you? No . . . It's not that you don't want to see him. You just don't want to have to see him in the hospital."

Tamaki shifted in his seat and looked out the window.

"It makes you think of when your mom was in the hospital, doesn't it? That's why you freak out whenever anyone gets sick."

Tamaki remained silent and continued to stare out the window.

"Well . . ." Haruhi leaned back in her seat and sighed. "Last time I checked, your mother is perfectly fine. She only has to go in for regular checkups and blood work. And last time I checked, you aren't the only one that has had to deal with sick mothers."

He turned back to his wife and frowned. "Haruhi . . . You didn't have to -"

She looked back at him, completely straight faced. "I'm not scared of hospitals. Hospitals don't upset me. My mom died a long time ago. I know for a fact that while she was in the hospital, the doctors did everything they could to keep her healthy, as they did for your mom. The only difference is, my mom didn't make it."

Haruhi sat back up and looked at him. "Hikaru and Kaoru are like brothers to me. I'm not going to sit by while another family member of mine is in the hospital. I need to see him. I need to be there for Nat. I know there is a chance this is the last time we will see Kaoru. That's why we needed to go. I was not going to pass up the chance to see him one last time."

Tamaki grabbed her hand and kissed it. "I'm sure he'll wake up soon. I'm sure of it."

Haruhi laughed. "I appreciate your optimism . . . But we don't know that. All we have to do is expect the worst and hope for the best. Don't leave room for disappointment."

* * *

_One week later_

"So you're staying until he wakes up? What if he doesn't?" Haruhi questioned Kyoya from across the couch in Natalia and Kaoru's living room.

"He's going to wake up. There's no doubt about it. My family is caring for him and has been from the very beginning. I don't fear for his life. The only question is when. I'd venture to say he has at least another week before he is recovered enough to be cognizant."

"You still could've made your presence apparent instead of scaring the shit out of me and getting my hopes up." Hikaru leaned back in his seat next to Chris and glanced over at Kyoya.

"It's been a week, Hikaru. I thought maybe after three plus decades of hearing your brother's voice, which is quite similar to your own, you'd be able to tell that the voice that spoke was mine and not Kaoru's. Apparently I was mistaken. But none of that matters. We shouldn't have to wait too much longer for him to wake up."

"You said at least another week. And then after that week, if he even does wake up, how long will he have to stay in the hospital for rehabilitation. And we don't even know if he's going to wake up anytime soon!" Nat sighed and got up from her seat on the couch. "He's already been in the hospital for over a week. I honestly can't take this anymore! I don't know if anyone else has noticed but it is even driving Bella insane."

Nat's voice was quiet at the mention of her daughter. Bella was at the other side of the room with the Suoh twins and Sofia's son Adrian drawing pictures. All of the other children were coloring and drawing, but Bella was staring blankly at the paper in front of her and drawing straight lines back and forth on the page. She sat up and grabbed a different color crayon before going back to the page and drawing circles over the lines. After another minute or two more she got up and took the picture over to her mother.

"Here, Mommy. I drawed it for Daddy. You gotta give it to him, kay?"

Nat took the picture from her daughter and nodded. "Of course, sweetie." She kissed Isabella's forehead and sent her back to the other children.

After Bella went back, Nat turned her attention back to the group. "I've got over fifty of these now. Just lines, circles, squiggles, random shapes on paper. For any other four year old this would be completely normal. But Bella . . . She loves to draw and she's actually good at it. She always talks about how much she wants to be just like Mommy and Daddy and design clothes, but for Harry Potter instead of 'muggles' - whatever that is. Now all I get is a bunch of lines and a dead stare. She never talks about anything. All she ever really says to me is 'Daddy isn't back 'cause I didn't stay up.' She thinks it's her fault."

Sofia leaned forward a bit. "What do you - I mean does she - mean by 'didn't stay up'? Why does she think it's her fault?"

Nat sighed and pulled her hair into a ponytail. "Kaoru called me when he landed at the airport here. He drove himself because he already had a car there since we live fairly close to the airport. And since she knew he would be coming home that night, Bella decided to stay up late to see him when he got home. It was already past eleven when he called but she stayed up anyways. She stayed up a while but ended up falling asleep because it took a while to get the news. And then I woke her back up to go to the hospital."

Nat paused momentarily to gather her thoughts. "At first . . . She was just upset. Like shock factor upset. She just wanted him to come home. But after the first few days . . . She fell into this- this little hole where she thinks that he's never coming back because she fell asleep instead of staying awake. She doesn't even know that he's still in the hospital. I try to tell her that he's still there . . . Just . . . You know - Asleep. But she says that he left and she doesn't ever want to go with me when I visit."

"And so she just stays here with me. I take care of her, try to cheer her up, the works. It's just that . . . She knows why we came here so suddenly, so seeing me just reminds her of what's going on. Nothing really cheers her up anymore." Chris shifted in his seat and looked over at the kids.

Tamaki looked over at the children as well. "And that's why you asked us to bring the kids. So that she can maybe have some distraction from this."

Natalia nodded. "Apparently it's not doing much though."

"I was hoping that Adrian would be able to cheer her up. They always have so much fun playing together." Sofia sighed and took a sip of her coffee that was on the table.

"Sorry for not getting the memo on bringing the kids, but I don't think Zoe would've been much help. She's still pretty reserved." Kyoya adjusted his glasses as he spoke.

Haruhi looked at the rest of the group. "Wait. How often do you guys meet up? You make it seem like Adrian and Bella hang out all the time."

Sofia shrugged. "Well not all the time. But every few weekends. Sometimes a week at a time. I'm not working right now, Nat and Kaoru are in charge of a company so they can take off when they want, Every once in a while Zoe decides she wants to play with Yukimi, and until recently, Hikaru and Chris had nothing to really occupy their lovely wasted time in California." Everyone mentioned nodded and murmured in agreement. "You two are busy people. We don't blame you for living where you do and having twins to take care of."

"Why are we always the last to be informed about these things?" Tamaki looked over at his wife, who simply shrugged.

"You two are only the last to know because you're the last to ask." Kyoya looked over at his best friend plainly.

"The point is that we asked you to bring the kids over to help Bella . . . and I asked you to come because I honestly can't make it through this without you all."

Natalia's voice wavered in the last phrase she spoke. Her hands shook around the cup that she had just picked up. She took a deep breath and eyed the group once more.

"I have to be Bella's rock. I know that. But I need a rock of my own. I've never been a strong stoic warrior like you two can be." She gestured to Haruhi and Sofia. "I've always been a very dramatic person. Emotions come very easily to me. I did theatre all the way through college for Christ's sake. I'm not the type of person that can be calm and sound in a situation like this. So I'm thankful for you all. The support is well needed."

Natalia paused and set her drink down. "But to be completely honest . . . If I only needed a rock, I would've been fine with Chris and Sofia. No offense meant to any of you, really. What I called you here for is your expertise. Kyoya, I know you don't run your family's medical business but you know it. I want, if at all possible, you to oversee Kaoru's care."

Natalia got up as Kyoya spoke. "I'm not sure that's entirely possible . . . But I'll see what I can do. I feel my brothers might be kind enough to allow it."

Nat nodded and turned to Haruhi next. "Haruhi . . . If it isn't too much to ask of you . . . I would be very grateful if you would be willing to take charge of the legal matters involved with this. You're the best lawyer I've ever met and you're my friend. I don't trust anyone else with this but you."

Haruhi smiled. "This whole conversation seems like scheming for some dramatic medieval war. I'd be happy to help however I can."

"Tamaki your family does practically everything. But what I need - if you are willing - is some real estate assistance."

"Wait what? How is real estate going to help with any of this?" Tamaki stood up and took his cup from the table. "I understand medical and legal but I don't see how I can be of any help. Kaoru isn't disease ridden like my mother was. I can't really collaborate with Kyoya's family to cure comatose."

Nat shook her head and sighed. "I know that. That's why I didn't ask for that. I asked for real estate help. I need assistance in that field because whether he wakes up or . . . or I have to cancel the life support on him . . . we are not staying here. We are moving to Japan. Closer to home."

"Closer to our childhood home, yeah, but not yours." Hikaru joined in the conversation. "Nat . . . What if he doesn't wake up? Wouldn't you want your family to support you? My family is hardly a family. They're never home. The only reason they are ever in the general vicinity of 'home' is because we have a little sister who is still in school. Other than that they are always away. It used to be for work. But ever since they retired, all they do is travel."

Nat turned to him and narrowed her eyes. "Why do you make it sound like he won't wake up?"

"I never said that. I want him to wake up just as much as you do. He's still my brother. But if by some chance he doesn't, wouldn't it be easier to have your family's support. You'd have your sisters too."

Natalia picked her cup back up and gripped it tight. "My parents didn't know the first thing about support. All they would do is complain and tell me how much of a burden I'm being. Kaoru and Isabella are my family. One third of my family is in a comatose state in the hospital. Another third has turned into a zombie that hates herself. The last third is about to shatter from all of the emotion she's been bottling up. So after this is over, we are moving to Japan. In Japan we will be surrounded by support. From what I've seen lately, friends offer much more support than family sometimes. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some more coffee."

Before she could leave the room, Chris stood up and held her arm. "Nat. Come on. You're allowed to let things out right now. You're allowed to be upset and in pain. We're here to be your rocks so you can take a break."

"Not yet." Natalia moved Chris's hand from her arm and walked away. "The bottle's not full yet."

* * *

He stood there, staring. Cuts and bruises slightly faded. All vitals stable. More serious wounds cleaned and bandages replaced. Everything was clean and organized and still. Lifeless. Breathing but lifeless. It was uncanny how perfect everything was. The steady rise and fall of his chest. His hair washed and brushed around the bandages wrapping his forehead. The steady timed beeps of the electrocardiogram faint and blending into the quiet hospital background outside the door. It was strangely calming.

He didn't know what to say. He didn't have anything to say. Nothing would get through. No point in speaking to a deaf man.

"Are you just going to stand there all day or are you going to say something?" Haruhi walked into the room and stood next to Kyoya at Kaoru's bedside.

"I don't see any point in talking to someone who can't hear me. It's just wasted breath."

"Who says he can't hear you?"

"He's in a coma, Haruhi. He can't hear anything right now."

Haruhi laughed and moved closer to the head of the Kaoru's bed. She pushed her hair behind her ear and turned to face Kyoya. "I like to think he can hear us. When my mom was in the hospital before she died, I came to see her everyday. Even after she lost consciousness. She was on life support for only a few days. But I still came to see her with Dad. I told her about my day and read to her and talked about how I wanted to be just like her. In her last few days, during her comatose state, her face looked just like his does now. Completely blank. But I still talked. A few hours, I think my Dad told me, before she died . . . I saw her one last time. And I read her the story she always told me. I also told her how I knew she was going away soon. I told her I would miss her, and I promised to take care of Dad for her. . . And for some reason . . . I don't know what happened, but when she died she had a smile on her face. At least that's what my Dad told me." She moved and walked back towards the door. "We're all having dinner at Nat's later. You're welcome to come if you're available."

"It's funny." Haruhi was almost out the door when Kyoya spoke again. "I've never seen him this calm since his wedding. And even that was surprising. Never thought he would be sure enough of his bride to be to be calm at his wedding. Or even sure enough of himself for that matter."

"He loves her. She loves him. It was pretty simple for him."

Kyoya sighed and turned back towards Haruhi. "His love needs him right about now . . ."

"I know." Haruhi gestured out the door. "Come on. Why don't we go see her now."

Kyoya waved Haruhi off. "I'll be there soon. I need to check on his care-taking first. I am in charge of him now."

Haruhi nodded and left, leaving Kyoya in the near silent room. He walked towards the door a few moments later.

Before leaving, he paused and glanced back at Kaoru. "You heard me, right? Your family needs you, Kaoru. They're falling apart. Your daughter believes it's her fault. Your brother keeps saying it could have been his. And your wife . . . I honestly don't think she can live without you. You should probably wake up for them soon. It'd be a shame to disappoint."

* * *

"Are you sure you're alright, Nat? We don't have to have a big dinner if you don't want to." Chris continued to inquire knowledge of his best friend's well-being as they set the table.

Natalia maneuvered around the table to set things up as she spoke with Christian. "I'm not alright and you all know that. But I'm able to manage enough to have dinner with my friends who dropped everything to come here at my request." She stopped and looked over at him. "Really, Chris. It's the least I could do for all of you guys. I mean . . . The twins just started school, Kyoya and Sofia both left the rest of their families back in Japan for this, and you . . . You and Hikaru are having a baby soon. You dropped everything and left the surrogate mother back in California for me . . . Dinner is nothing compared to you all."

Christian laughed and pulled Natalia into a hug. "You're always so dramatic. It's not like you wouldn't do the same for any of us if we were in the same situation. We're just here to help." He let go and went back to the kitchen to get the food. "Now enough with all this sap. We have to finish setting up before everyone gets here."

After another ten minutes of setting everything up for dinner, nearly everyone had arrived and settled in.

"This is wonderful, Nat. Thank you for this wonderful meal." Tamaki sat next to Haruhi, Sofia, and Kyoya, across from Natalia and Christian.

"It's the least I could do, really. And he made most of it anyways. He's always been a better cook than I am." Nat pointed her fork at Chris and Chris shrugged modestly.

"It's weird too because I don't like to cook often. Imagine how good I would be if I actually enjoyed it."

"This is very nice, Nat . . . But something is missing . . . Or really someone." Kyoya looked over to Chris. "If you don't mind me asking, where is your husband?"

Chris sighed and finished chewing his food. "Late. Like always. He wanted to take a shower and stuff like that at the hotel before dinner." Christian pushed out his chair and stood up. "I'll go call him now."

* * *

"Hikaru . . . Where the hell are you? Everyone else is here already."

" _Calm down. I'm almost there. Just give me a minute okay?"_

"You've had about thirty minutes. You said you would help set up and now you're the last one to show up. What the hell happened?"

" _I was busy."_

"Well that helps clear things up for me. Thanks so much."

" _Oh shut up. I'm right around the corner."_

As the conversation went on, Chris noticed that Hikaru sounded different. Not different persay, but back to a version of himself he promised wouldn't be flying with them to Italy.

"You can't be serious right now . . ."

" _I'm completely serious. What the hell? I'm like two streets away right now."_

"You're drunk aren't you?"

" _I'll be there in a minute."_

He hung up.

After the phone call ended, Chris waited outside for Hikaru to get there. And after about a minute, he pulled into the driveway. He wasn't being driven by anyone. He was driving the rental car the two of them got when they first arrived.

"What the hell are you trying to do right now?!"

Hikaru looked at Chris, confused. "What are you talking about? I'm trying to go inside for dinner like we all planned."

Chris got close enough to Hikaru to smell the alcohol on his breath. He put his hand on Hikaru's chest to stop him from going inside. "How much did you drink before you came here."

Hikaru hesitated for a moment. "Some."

"That's not good enough. I'm in charge of you remember. You're supposed to be sober, remember!? Your brother got hit by a drunk driver, REMEMBER?"

"Why are you shouting? Calm down! I made it here fine. I didn't kill anyone. I'm not drunk! I just had a little to drink. Stop freaking out about it."

Chris laughed but his voice was laced with rage. "I promised Nat that I would make sure you didn't drink the entire time you were here."

"I don't need a babysitter."

"The last time you said that to me, we started dating and I became your permanent babysitter. Now we're married so I thought you wouldn't need one. Do you want to backtrack to grade school?"

"I'm not even drunk! Why are you doing this?"

"Why am I - If you're not drunk, how many fingers am I holding up?"

He held up one hand completely open in front of Hikaru's face.

"Are we really going to do this now?"

"How. Many. Fingers."

Hikaru rubbed his face and sighed, not even looking at Chris's hand. "Somewhere between zero and ten."

Chris grabbed the keys from Hikaru's hand and walked toward the car. "That's it I'm taking you back to the hotel."

"I'm going inside."

Chris was already at the car when Hikaru opened the front door to the house. "Don't you dare. If Nat sees you like this, she just might kill you this time."

Hikaru glanced back at Chris and walked inside the house. As soon as he walked inside, Chris ran after him to try to stop him from seeing Natalia.

"Hikaru get back outside right now!"

Hikaru waved Chris off and continued walking. "I'm not some damn animal that needs to be put outside."

Back in the dining room, the group could hear the two men arguing. Natalia got up from her seat. "What's going on out there?" She was about to leave the room when Hikaru walked in.

"Hey."

"Hikaru what's going on? Why did I hear Chris shouting?"

He shook his head and moved to kiss Nat on the cheek. "Nothing's wrong. Everything is okay. Chris is just being an ass. I'm sorry I'm late."

Before he could kiss her on the cheek, she put her hands up to stop him. "What is that smell?" She paused and backed away. Her hands started shaking as she closed them into fists. "Hikaru are you . . . Are you drunk right now?"

"Now Nat - "

"Don't call me that."

Hikaru sighed and took a step back. "Alright we're back to square one."

"How dare you?"

"Calm down. I'm completely cognizant of what's going on right now."

"Kaoru isn't."

He froze and restarted his train of thought. "I know that."

"You promised." She looked back at Chris, who was now standing in the doorway of the dining room. "You said he wasn't going to do this. What the hell is this, Chris!"

"Nat, I tried to -"

Hikaru put his hand up to cut his husband off. "Don't - Don't bring him into this. Chris didn't do anything. I did this on my own time without anyone babysitting me. Surprisingly enough, I'm a grown man who has the ability to do what he wants!"

Nat shook her head, her eyes slightly wet from tears starting to form. "Why? Why do you always have to do this?"

He ran his hand through his hair and groaned. "I dunno. Because I felt like it."

At that, Haruhi stood up forcefully and started walking out of the room. "Hikaru. Let's go. Now."

He looked over at her and scoffed. "No! If I remember, I was invited to this lovely dinner. And If I also remember correctly, I am above the drinking age everywhere so I'm allowed to have a drink when I damn well please."

Haruhi's voice was coated with intense rage. "Hikaru Hitachiin. I will drag you out of here by your fucking dick if I have to ask again. Let's. Go."

Hikaru laughed and looked around at everyone in the room. "So is this just going to be like another round of 'everybody hates Hikaru,' or is everyone going to calm down because I'm not doing anything wrong."

Natalia glared at Hikaru and spoke slowly. "How did you get here?"

"I flew here. What the hell kind of question is that?"

"How did you get here just now? To my house?"

"I got here, to MY BROTHER'S house, by car."

"We bought this house together. We share a bank account. Don't you dare take that away from me . . . You called a cab? Got a driver? Chris picked you up?"

Hikaru caught on quickly and hesitated answering. "No . . . I- I drove myself."

Nat laughed angrily. "Now was that before or after you got trashed?"

"You don't have to be like this . . ."

Natalia closed the gap between them, utensils still in hand. "Did you drive here drunk, or not?"

"How many times do I have to tell you people. I'm not dru-"

"ANSWER THE GODDAMN QUESTION HIKARU!"

There was a shocking silence. The tension in the air was suffocating the room. Hikaru wished he had never walked in the door.

"Yes."

Natalia forcefully grabbed onto her hair and screamed before breaking into sobs. "How dare you- HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!? My husband is in a coma because of scum like you. my husband could die at any given moment because of trash like you! He could never wake up! Don't you realize this! He could be gone forever and you pull shit like this!? You go out and get drunk and drive IN THE SAME FUCKING TOWN THAT MY HUSBAND ALMOST DIED IN?!"

Nat walked back to her seat and refused to look at him. "Get the hell out of my house."

Chris walked up and grabbed onto Hikaru's shoulder. "Come on. I'll drive."

Hikaru shrugged Chris's hand away and re closed the gap between him and Natalia. "No. Wait a minute. You have the fucking audacity to tell me to get out. You tell me that this is YOUR HOME? This is my brother's home. You have HIS LAST NAME! Not your own damn name. You joined MY FAMILY. Kaoru is MY BROTHER. MY TWIN BROTHER. I have been with him since birth. You have no right to tell me I've been insensitive for drinking when all the comfort and condolences have been directed to you. Kaoru is MY blood relative. NOT YOURS. We've all had to sit here and play along with this fucking pity party shit you have going on while I'm just here scolded for looking at a bottle of beer. I know I fucked up in the past. I know I shouldn't have done what I just did. But what you don't realize is that Kaoru is MY FAMILY. not. yours."

"Your family? You think you deserve to call him your family? You're the worst damn brother I've ever heard of!"

"Nat. I think you need to calm down . . ." Haruhi tried to stop the argument from going any further.

"Both of you need to stop this right now." Sofia joined in the efforts.

"You guys stay out of this! I have every damn right to want to slit his tiny fucking throat right here, right now."

"Natalia . . . You're slipping." Chris's voice became very serious in that instant.

Nat turned around, screamed again, and threw her chair to the ground. "ALL OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP! I'VE BEEN SLIPPING SINCE KAORU GOT PUT IN THE HOSPITAL. CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?!"

She turned back to Hikaru and ran right up to his face. "You have no right to call him family when you were absent for five years of his adult life. You refused to answer his calls. Text him back. Even send a fucking post card. _He thought you were dead for three of those five years._ You wanna know how I know that?" She went right up to his ear and whispered through gritted teeth. " _Because I was fucking there._ "

Hikaru just laughed and backed away from her, shaking his head. "I may have been gone for a few years of his life . . . But you were absent for twenty three years of it. _You couldn't even begin to know him like I do._ "

"Get the hell out of my house! If you say another word to me _I will kill you._ "

Hikaru slammed his hands on the end of the table. "I really hope he wakes up soon, ya know? Maybe when he wakes up he'll think that being married to you was just some bad dream!"

Natalia gripped her hand around her steak knife as tight as she possibly could.

"Hikaru. Stop it. Right now."

"No, no, no! I'm just getting warmed up!" He inched his way closer to Nat, who still refused to look at him. "You know . . . Kaoru has always been the nicer of the two of us. He's always been a people person. And he always- ALWAYS - loved family. Being in one. The idea of one. Everything about family. So much so that he always said he wanted one. He never really talked to anyone else about it besides me."

He continued to get closer until he was right next to Natalia and no gap was between them. "Hikaru . . . You need to get out right now. Before either of you takes this too far." Tamaki and Kyoya were standing now along with everyone else.

Ignoring Tamaki's warning, Hikaru leaned in next to Natalia's ear and whispered his next statement to her. "You know what he always told me he wanted? _Kids._ Ya know with the 's' as in more than one. And guess what you can't give to him . . ."

Within a split second after Hikaru's last statement, Natalia was turned to him, no gap between them, with a knife in her hand. Her hand, knife in tow, was held to Hikaru's throat. Hikaru was frozen in place, eyes wide and cheeks pale. "Get the fuck out of my house right now. You're dead to me."

Hikaru glanced down at the knife and then back at Natalia. "You've gone insane . . ."

Chris grabbed Hikaru and pulled him back by the shirt collar. "Shut the fuck up and get in the car. Now."

Sofia rounded the table swiftly and stood directly in front of Nat. "Give that to me, right now. Trust me on this one . . . Bringing out a knife doesn't solve anything. I've been there . . ."

Nat held out her hand but didn't let go of the knife. Sofia peeled the knife out of her hand and put it back down on the table. "Now go into the living room. I'll make sure the kids are still in bed and then we can talk." Sofia turned to Tamaki and Chris. "You two join the conversation." She looked at Kyoya and Haruhi. "You two talk some sense into that idiot."

Chris shook his head. "I have to talk to him." He looked at Natalia. "I'll talk to you soon."

* * *

Chris walked out of the house and over to the rental car. Without even looking inside, he opened the door and sat in the driver's seat, but he didn't start the car.

"What are you going to take me home again, Mr. Babysitter. And then we'll fuck again like last time?"

"Why did you have to do this?" Chris stared straight forward, out the car's windshield.

"Just take me back to the damn hotel."

Chris turned sharply to face him. "YOU PROMISED ME! YOU PROMISED HER! YOU PROMISED EVERYONE YOU WOULD STAY AWAY FROM THE REASON YOUR BROTHER IS PRACTICALLY DEAD!"

"HE'S NOT DEAD, DAMMIT! AND NEITHER AM I!" Hikaru opened the door on his side and got out of the car, slamming the door behind him.

Chris followed Hikaru shortly thereafter. He walked up to where Hikaru was standing and stood in front of him. "Do you care about anyone but yourself? Ever?"

"Don't even start with that. If I only cared about myself we wouldn't be married. In fact, if I actually cared about myself I wouldn't have ever started drinking in the first place."

"Hikaru, don't-"

"No. It's true. You know it's true. The only reason I started drinking in the first place is because I thought I lost everything. Everything that I loved was gone. But then my best friend came back to try to help. And my sister. And then my brother and I were speaking again. So I calmed down the drinking. And then I met you. We became friends. I calmed it down some more. Then we started dating. Things got serious between us. I stopped drinking all together."

Hikaru sighed and looked up at the dark sky. "But then my best friend, the only woman I could ever love, was left alone for a week by the asshole that took her from me. I went back to drinking some now and then. Then you left me because I'm a fucking idiot. I went through a bottle of liquor an hour. I even drank vodka . . . When we got married and when Haruhi's relationship was back to normal I stopped drinking. Everything was fixed . . . And then this shit happened. My brother has been in the hospital for almost two weeks now. He was hit by someone that could have easily been me, as everyone just LOVES to point out. And to make it even worse - to rub salt into the deepest wound I've ever had . . . I come over to Italy to see him. To be with him while he's in a coma . . . I come here to support a woman that can't stand me, even though I've come to tolerate her, just because she's married to my brother and is mother to my niece . . . And everyone - even YOU, the goddamn love of my life - coddles her and does everything to make her happy while I'm over here doing everything I can not to down a bottle of vodka and jump off a fucking bridge so I can go before he does! And I'm in the wrong?! I'm the one that fucked everything up again!? She literally tried to kill me! She put a knife to my throat, but no that's totally okay because I'm Hikaru and fucking everything up is just part of my DNA."

Hikaru looked at the ground and sighed. "I'll walk to the hotel. And I won't come back here, as her highness wishes."

Before Hikaru could even start to walk away, Chris finally spoke up. "You know she didn't mean it."

Hikaru just laughed and turned back to Chris. "Usually you're right with these things. You really are smart and genuine and everything that I love . . . But I don't think you're really paying attention this time. Your best friend hates me. She wants me dead, Chris. She just proved it verbally and physically. If you hadn't pulled me away, there would probably be two Hitachiins in the hospital . . . No. Probably just one. If Nat had her way I'd be in the grave before anyone could blink."

"Oh shut up. I'm tired of this."

"Excuse me?"

Chris walked toward Hikaru and continued. "You heard exactly what I just said. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of both yours and Nat's shitty little pity parties. This isn't high school. This is the real world. I understand and completely accept the reasons both of you are extremely upset right now. I would be devastated beyond belief if either of you were in Kaoru's position right now. You are my love and she is my sister. Not by blood, sure, but my sister nonetheless. But both of you are getting on my last nerve. You need to see that your actions have consequences. Yes, it very well could have been you that put your brother in a coma, and I will say it over and over and over again until you realize that _it wasn't._ And I will gladly tell my darling best friend that she needs to get over herself and realize that people deal with stress differently. And that other people are dealing with the same stress she is. But what you both need to get through your thick skulls is that the world isn't revolving because you say it is. It will revolve with or without you until God says it shouldn't anymore. Your shitty little attitudes mean nothing. Get your privileged little heads out of your asses and realize that Kaoru may die. You could have a few minutes ago. You pushed her beyond the brink and you let yourself get put into that situation. She let herself get pushed by you. She pushed herself. She bottled all of this up for much too long. But so did you. So set your damn rich people pride aside and go back inside and apologize to your sister-in-law like us 'commoners' know how."

Chris didn't move. He just stared at Hikaru, waiting for him to walk inside ahead of him. "Well go. I'm not going to wait all night."

Hikaru frowned. "Can't we wait out here for a few more minutes? It's more calming to be out here with just you."

"Only if you give me a legitimate response to everything I just said."

Hikaru paused and went to sit on the hood of the car. "You're right. I'm shitty. She's shitty. Apparently all of us rich people are shitty. End of story."

"I guess that works for now."

* * *

"Nat, you should probably sit down."

"I can't, Tamaki."

"Sofia will be in here in a minute."

"I'm not going to sit down."

"You know you can still talk to me. It's kind of what I'm here for."

"One of the reasons you're here."

"Come on Nat. Just sit down and breathe. Everything is going to be fine."

"Tamaki if you tell me to sit down one more-"

"Sit down. Now." Sofia walked in from behind them and stood a few feet in front of Natalia.

The look on Sofia's face convinced Nat to sit down finally. "You know . . . I hate treating my friends like children, but when they act like toddlers fighting over a toy in preschool, I really don't have much of a choice."

"Sofia . . . I don't think we were acting like children . . ."

"Exactly! You weren't thinking! If you were thinking, I highly doubt that you would have attempted homicide! Unless you really are insane like he said."

Nat stood in outrage and closed the gap between them. "Did you even hear what he said to me!? Did you hear how he treated me!? Did you smell that shitty alcohol smell on his breath!? You can't tell me you couldn't because it could be smelled halfway across the world!"

"I heard every damn word he said, Nat! I heard it! I saw it! And I sure as hell smelled it! But guess what - _they were just words._ Sure he was being an ass, but that's what he does! If you don't like what he's saying to you then punch him in the face and move on. Don't try to kill him! He's been sober for over three years! For Chris, for Kaoru, for _you._ He ACTUALLY CARES, Nat. But an alcoholic is an alcoholic! They slip up sometimes."

"How dare you defend him when he had the audacity to come into my house in that condition. Especially after what happened to Kaoru. He could've been the one to put his brother in the hospital!"

"AND HE KNOWS THAT! God, you rich people can be so thick sometimes. You don't think he's realized that by now? Why do you think he fell off the wagon so quickly?"

Natalia's voice caught in her throat. "B-but. Why did he have to do it? Why? He knew. He was doing so well. He promised . . ."

"Yeah and I promised my dad that I would always believe in Santa and guess where that ended up . . ."

Natalia looked down at the ground, fists clenched, fuming with rage. "He took my baby brother from me. He was always Kaoru's main focus. He came in just in time for my lovely wedding, which he was drunk at. After five years of silence from him he comes back and ruins everything. And then, when my husband gets taken away from me for God knows how long, he waltzes in to my- our house, drunk and obnoxious . . . And to make it even worse . . ." Her voice was shaking now. "He mocks the fact that I can't give Kaoru what both of us want more than anything in the world. That I can't give our daughter the little brothers and sisters she wants so much."

Natalia looked at Sofia and shouted when she spoke again. "He comes to my house to ruin my life and you expect me to stand by and take it like a good little girl!? You really expect me to do that!?"

Sofia glared into Natalia's eyes and spoke through barred teeth. "I expect you not to commit homicide over the words of a drunken asshole."

"You heard what he said to-!"

"I already told you I heard every damn word! Leave all of this petty shit behind! Get your head out of your ass and stop acting like a two year old little bitch!"

Tamaki left his role of spectator as he finally decided to speak up. "Sofia I think you're being a little harsh . . . Maybe we should-"

"Harsh!? You think _I'm_ being harsh!? That dining room right around the corner was almost a crime scene! Why don't you morons get this!?" Sofia walked away from Natalia and sighed. "I'm not going to play this pity party game like Tamaki. And I'm pretty sure Chris didn't play it with Hikaru either. So I'm going to tell you something. A long something. And you're going to look at me. And you're going to listen."

Natalia and Tamaki sat down and looked over at Sofia. Sofia crouched down directly in front of Natalia so that they were exactly eye to eye. "Kaoru could die at any given moment. A man is at risk of death, a man you love, and you're here trying to kill his twin brother. That is the most ridiculous bullshit I've ever heard. I will keep saying it until it clicks: _your husband could die at any given moment._ You love him and he is this close from leaving you forever. This damn close. One thing happens and the man you love is gone forever. You're not the only one who loves him though. You know who else loves him? His twin brother. His own flesh and blood. You just said that Hikaru took your little brother away from you but last time I checked, you kind of did the same for him. Hikaru loves his brother more than anything in the world. The only love that rivals his love for his brother is his love for Chris. And you're sitting here telling me that he has no right to treat you the way he did? You've treated him like scum for years. He stopped because he saw how much it upset Kaoru. But you . . . You treat him like someone Kaoru slept with after you two married. You took away the one thing he loved most and spat in his face to mock him. Sure he was an ass and stepped out of line tonight, but you went too far. You got violent. And I know - _I know -_ that if Kaoru saw what just happened, he would be more upset than you have ever been in your entire life. Hikaru is allowed to be upset. He might lose his brother. His brother might die because of someone doing exactly what he did tonight. I don't know if you believe this but people say that twins have a sort of connection. A connection that once one twin is severed from the connection, the other twin is never whole again. So just think about that next time you say that you're the only one that needs comfort and support right now."

"Sofia . . . I-"

"No. Don't tell me. Tell him." Sofia gestured to the doorway where Hikaru was now standing.

"I know you told me never to come back . . . I know you told me a lot of things that I really don't want to relive, but . . . uh . . .I'm back. I guess. I never really left. I was just outside."

Sofia laughed and stood up. "Come on Tamaki. I think both of them are sane enough now to not commit homicide. At least for the time being."

After Sofia and Tamaki left the room, Natalia stood up and faced Hikaru. "I still don't like you."

"Never said you had to Nat -" He stopped himself. "Sorry. Natalia."

She shook her head and wiped the tears off her cheek. "I don't care if you call me Nat, Hikaru."

Hikaru nodded and walked forward in the living room, looking at family pictures of Natalia, Kaoru, and Isabella. "So . . . Uhm. This thing that's happening right now. It can't really be resolved, can it?"

"No . . . If it was anything else besides your sobriety in question right now . . . Then maybe. But I just. No."

Hikaru sighed and kept his back to Nat. "You know . . . During those five years of me being a fuck up . . .I-uh - I got texts, voicemails, messages on every social media account I have from Kaoru. Eventually it got to emails and letters. He never stopped. The entire time. Even when he was with you he sent me post cards." He turned to face Natalia and rubbed the nape of his neck. "And every message was detailed about everything going on. He asked for me to write back. He asked how I was. He told me how his week went . . . And he told me about you . . ."

Natalia looked at the ground. "I told him not to. I told him after a few years that you were a lost cause . . . I just couldn't stand to see him so upset because his brother was halfway across the world drinking himself to sleep each night."

"He didn't know I was drinking. He didn't know that until Haruhi found out."

"He thought you were dead for three years, Hikaru."

He paused and sighed. "So I've been told. And I almost was a little while ago. And he might be soon. Now can I get back to my story because I wasn't finished."

"Fine."

"So he told me about you. And in every letter he sent me he told me how much I would get along with you. How similar we are. He told me how much he loved you and how he wanted to marry you and have a family with you. He said you were the one. Do you want to know the one phrase out of all of the letters he sent to me that stuck in my head?"

Natalia hesitated. "What?"

"He said to me . . . Well he would've said this to me if I would have answered my phone . . .He _wrote_ to me . . . 'She beat the game, Hikaru. And I've never been happier for that.'"

Nat narrowed her eyes and looked up at Hikaru, confused. "What does that mean?"

"You got into our circle. We were told at a very young age that no one would be able to tell us apart. We built walls around us and played games so that no one would get in. No one could ever beat the game. No one could ever tell us apart. But then Haruhi came along and beat our game without hesitation. That's why we both fell for her in high school. We didn't think anyone else could do it. So when he wrote that . . . and he wrote that a lot . . . I - I didn't know what to do."

"So you abandoned your brother because he was happy. Because he found love and you were stuck in your little world mourning the lost love you never had."

Hikaru narrowed his eyes as well and spoke quietly. "Why do you always have to be such a bitch to me? Am I really that much of a threat to you?"

"He always talked about you. Always told stories about that dumb host club you two were in-"

"It wasn't dumb."

"Dumb or not he always talked about it. He sat at his computer for days hoping you would message him back. I took him traveling with me to distract him from you. And then you finally talked back. You practically rose from the dead in his eyes. Just in time for our wedding too. And I finally got him to stop dwelling on you. And now he still can't stop talking about how happy he is that you finally cleaned up your act."

Hikaru laughed and moved closer to Natalia. "So you're mad at me for what I did but you hate me because my brother loves me? You just said how upset you were that he was finally happy again and you get pissed at me for what I did?"

"It's different."

"Is it? Is it really different, Nat? When he told me that the two of us were a lot alike I didn't believe him, but now I really see how much we are alike." He got close to her so that they were face to face. "We hate each other for the exact same reasons. We are both envious little assholes that don't know the difference between playing the victim and victimizing."

"I did _nothing_ wrong! But you-"

"I spoke to you! I pissed you off! Yeah, I insulted you . . . I insulted you a lot. But you put a knife to my throat, Natalia! We've both said some hateful things, but what made you pull the knife wasn't my insults. You can take those."

"You just had to bring it up . . ."

Hikaru grabbed onto Natalia's shoulders and she looked away from him, tears welling in her eyes once more. "You can't have any more kids, Nat. You can adopt. You can use a surrogate. You can find any means to add another member to this family but no matter what you do you cannot physically birth a child. Bella was a miracle in herself. You didn't pull the knife on me because I called you a bitch. You didn't pull the knife on me because I slandered your name or some stupid shit like that. I do that all the time and you can take it. You were seconds away from slitting my throat because I spoke the truth."

"It's not the truth!"

"YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY MORE KIDS NAT! GET OVER IT!"

Natalia went silent and stared at the ground, tears flowing freely now.

"Nat. I know you hate it. You're more family oriented than anyone besides Sofia. You want a big family with Kaoru. I get it. Chris and I are going to have a kid soon and the kid will only be biologically mine. You have no idea how much I want that baby to be his too. But guess what. It's just not possible. That and it would be weird. Some things just can't happen. But you have Bella. And if we're lucky, we both get to still have Kaoru."

"I just want him back . . ." Natalia brought her hand to cover her mouth and tried to choke back broken sobs. "I need him back . . . I just-"

"I know. I want him back too."

Nat sat down on the couch to regain her composure. "I'm so terrible . . ."

"I'm not going to deny that after what happened earlier. But I'm not going to deny that I'm just as terrible as you are, if not worse."

"What if he woke up . . . right now . . . and he woke up to find out that you were gone. Because of me. Even if I didn't kill you. That would be crazy if I did. But what if he woke up and you had disappeared again because I told you to. Because I was too much of a bitch to realize that you're going through exactly what I'm going through right now . . ."

"I'm pretty sure I could say the same thing."

"I've always been so nasty to you."

"So have I."

"I want to resolve this. I don't want to make him sad anymore."

Hikaru sighed and sat next to Natalia on the couch. "I'm going to be honest . . . We're a little too much alike to be friends. I don't think I can ever like you. I have a hard time tolerating myself most days."

"That's all we have to do though. Tolerate each other."

"So . . . Is it agreed . . . I guess?"

Natalia held out her hand and laughed. "It's agreed. We can be acquaintances now . . . I guess."

Hikaru shook his sister-in-law's hand. "Let's tolerate each other now."

* * *

_One Week Later_

"I feel bad for keeping Haruhi and Kyoya here so long." Natalia pulled her hair into a ponytail as she walked through the hospital hallways.

Hikaru sipped a large cup of coffee and shrugged. "They said they would help. It's not like the kids are missing any more school. Tamaki took them back almost a week ago. And Sofia left the night after you tried to kill me."

"You're really going to bring that up with Bella here?"

Bella looked up at her uncle as she walked by his side, holding his free hand. "We still only tolerate each other, remember? And it's not like Bella was there."

"I knows what happened though!"

Natalia sighed as they rounded the corner. "I guess it can't be hidden then." Nat glanced back at Hikaru. "Where is Chris anyway? Why didn't he come with us?"

"He said he would help Haruhi manage some of the legal stuff. Give her information on the family when she needed it." He took another sip as they stopped in front of Kaoru's room. "And he said something about this being a nice family visit for us. Since he's not blood related, he said he should stay behind this time."

Nat smiled and laughed. "He's always been like that." She went to put her hand on the doorknob but Bella ran up and stopped her.

"No, Mommy. I wanna do it."

Bella stood on her toes and opened the door in a manner that was so painfully slow that it felt like it took a century. The door was too heavy for her.

Once the door was open, the three Hitachiins walked into the all-too-familiar hospital room without hesitation.

Hikaru walked in before Natalia because Isabella returned her hand to his once the door was open.

"Daddy!" Bella ran to the bed her father was in leaving Hikaru in the doorway.

He dropped his coffee as soon as Bella let go. "Holy shit."

Natalia maneuvered her way around Hikaru to get into the room. "What the hell, Hikaru? Why did you drop your-" Her eyes went wide and she almost immediately started crying. "Oh my God."

"Hey, sweetie! I would pick you up, but Daddy's still hurting pretty bad." His voice was hoarse from lack of use for the past almost three weeks. He glanced at the other side of the room where his brother and wife were standing, barely moving his injured head. "Oh hey you two. I'm glad to see you two aren't screaming at each other."

Natalia ran over to her husband's bedside and leaned over him. She put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him, crying all the while. "I've missed you so much."

"I would say that I missed you too, but it honestly doesn't feel like any time has passed. Oh wait. I was gone for a week before hand." He smiled up at his wife. "I missed you too, Nat. And I'm sorry for being away longer than planned."

Hikaru spoke up, his voice shaking, from across the room. "You have no idea . . . N-not even the slightest damn clue how long you've been here . . . do you?"

"It would be really nice if my brother came over here so I could look at him. Every time I try to move my head it feels like someone is shooting my brains out."

Hikaru walked over to the bed and stood opposite of Natalia and Isabella. He was crying now too. "You've been here for so long. We thought you'd never wake up."

"Well it sure does seem like I've been here a while since even you're crying. I honestly expected you to cry, Nat, even if I was only asleep for a few hours."

Natalia hit his arm, causing him to wince. "I didn't say I don't love you, hun." He looked down at his daughter, who was holding onto his hand. "How are you doing, Bells?"

She pulled herself onto the bed and curled up on her father's side. "I missed you, Daddy."

Kaoru laughed and moved his arm, albeit stiffly, around her. "I missed you too, sweetie."

He turned his head slightly so that he was looking at his brother again. "So how long? I feel like I've either been turned to stone, shot in every limb, or I have the worst hangover ever . . . You should know what that feels like right?"

"You're acting more like me than yourself, Kaoru." Hikaru laughed and paused to wipe the tears from his face. "Almost three weeks."

Kaoru's eyes went wide and he turned his attention to the paper-white ceiling. "I'm so sorry."

"Kaoru, stop it. Don't you dare apologise for this. It wasn't your fault." Natalia grabbed his hand and shook her head as she spoke.

"Who's fault was it though? I don't remember anything that happened."

Hikaru took a deep breath. "We'll talk about that another time."

"I was driving home. That's all I remember. And now I'm here. If it wasn't my fault then it had to be someone that hit me, right? Who was it?"

Hikaru walked toward the door. "I'm going to the bathroom."

As soon as Hikaru walked out of the door, Kaoru turned to Nat. "Nat . . . How did I end up here? For three weeks."

She hesitated. "A drunk driver."

Kaoru laughed. "I figured as much. Hikaru's never really believed in karma. I bet he does now." He paused for a moment and looked down at Bella, who was now asleep at his side. "It wasn't his fault."

"I know."

"And even if it was, I'm awake now."

Natalia smiled and kissed him again. "Yes. Yes you are."

Kaoru smiled and kissed her back. They sat in silence for a moment before Kaoru spoke up again. "I can't believe he thinks this turned it back into a pumpkin. I guess he just doesn't get it."

"Hun what are you talking about?"

"Oh. Sorry. Just talking to myself. Do you believe that people in comas can hear what people tell them?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Because I rememb- No. It's nothing. Don't worry about it." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it. He woke up. After three weeks. More to come in the coma arc. I know you're probably thinking "what do you mean more to come. He woke up. There is no more coma arc." but like. rehab. He doesn't wake up and automatically fell good as new. hes gotta do physical therapy. Stay tuned for the next chapter. I don't have it's name yet but I have the outline for it.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> Chapter 28 - idek bro
> 
> Please review!


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is my last chapter for right now. I do plan on writing more, but I will most likely be posting in a sequel fic that will take place ten years after this chapter. There are more children to be conceived, but they will be introduced in the sequel. Thanks for reading. It's been a blast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's here! Chapter 28. The last chapter in the coma arc. Some serious shit goes down. Also this chapter seems pretty choppy at parts but that's only because it is really a lot longer than planned so I had to edit time skips. There are QUITE A FEW time skips in this chapter. The purpose of the time skips is to show our lovely darling Kaoru's recover and to show how much it changes him at times. Let me tell you know, it is not fun.
> 
> I would like to put out a huge TRIGGER WARNING for those of you who have trouble reading about anxiety attacks. The stress of the recovery process has very strong effects on both Kaoru and Natalia so if you have trouble with anxiety attacks (and not just the shaky and nervous kind - anxiety attacks can get scary, loud, and angry too folks) please proceed with caution.
> 
> Also I would have written more on the physical therapy and whatnot but as I said, the chapter was very long as is so I decided to cut out details of it (also because I didn't want to be incorrect with physical therapy since all of my info came from my brother who has been through PT but not to this extent).
> 
> So! Since my long spiel of nothing is over, please enjoy (or at least try to) this very long very emotional chapter!
> 
> ps - i apologise if my proofreading has been lacking. im terrible with proofreading my own work and my normal proofreader is currently away and unable to access technology.

_7 October 2022_

"So how long were you awake before we got here?"

Kaoru sighed and thought a moment before responding. "I don't really know. All I know is that I was able to hear what you guys were saying every once and a while. Selective hearing I guess. . . But I was able to see again sometime early this morning. And then the . . . uh . . . what are they called? The less important medical people."

"Doctors?"

"No the less important ones."

Natalia sighed and laughed. "Kaoru, nurses are just as important as doctors."

Kaoru smiled. "Yeah nurses. Those people. They came in and saw that my eyes were open. I think they said they were going to notify you but . . . hm . . . I think it was Kyoya. It looked like Kyoya . . . He said not to because I wasn't fully awake yet."

"I told them not to notify you because it was still too early a stage in the recovery process. Kaoru, you still weren't completely cognizant. You could see but you weren't entirely responsive to us yet. I told them that if you hadn't begun to respond within the next six hours and Nat hadn't visited yet, we would contact the family on the progress."

Kaoru glanced over at Kyoya, still barely moving his head. "Oh okay. That makes sense."

He turned his attention back to his wife. "Oh and then . . . Wait where were we?"

"You opened your eyes and the nurses came in."

"Oh yeah. This sounds like an adventure story or something. It's weird . . . Anyway. Since Kyoya says I wasn't completely responsive yet, I guess I wasn't awake this morning. But I was really confused. Like I said with hearing you guys, it was in and out so I wasn't really sure where I was or why. I just heard you all really sad and telling me to wake up. But I couldn't respond . . . So my confusion was still . . . Like . . . I was still really confused. Then when I could see again, a few things were cleared up. I mean it was obvious that I was staring at a hospital ceiling. It wasn't that hard to tell. But I still had no idea why."

"So why weren't you confused when we walked in?"

"Oh I still was. That's why I asked you how. I never found out how. The nurses left before I actually started responding. I did the thing where you lay in bed and you feel like you lost your voice so you just make like a random noise to test it."

"And you were able to respond then?"

Kaoru shook his head slightly. "Not really no. The nurses were gone so I didn't have anything to respond to. And . . . I dunno . . . A lot of words, for like a few hours . . . I had no idea how to form simple sentences. And, as you can probably tell, every once and a while, a simple word is lost from my . . . word list thing?"

"Vocabulary."

"Yeah. See? And my voice sounded really weird to me so I wasn't exactly focused enough to respond and clear up my confusion. My voice sounded deeper than I apparently remembered." He turned to his wife and frowned. "I almost forgot who you were, Nat. It wasn't really until Bella ran in that everything clicked again."

"Well it seems as though you're nearly back to normal, though." Haruhi walked in and handed Natalia a cup of coffee that she went to get earlier.

Kaoru laughed dryly. "Mentally, yeah. I'm cognizant. I only forget a few words here and there. I'm up to speed on what's going on . . . But physically . . . please. I can move my hands, but not easily. The only limb that responds to me is my left arm. I don't know why. But even so, it is barely functioning."

Natalia gripped her husband's hand with her free hand. "But- But it's not like you're paralyzed or anything, right? I mean you did have other injuries besides your head but-"

"No. He's not paralyzed." Kyoya didn't look up from the tablet he was marking information to. "I'm not an actual doctor like my brothers are, but I know enough to get by. Also I've been talking with your actual doctors."

"It's not like I can't feel anything." Kaoru looked over at his right arm. "It's just that every time I try to move it, it feels like it's made of cement and it's attached to this bed. I sure as hell can feel my other injuries, too."

Kyoya pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You have nothing to worry about. Now that you're completely cognizant, we can begin the full recovery process."

Kaoru sighed and stared at the ceiling. "And what does this full recovery process entail? And how long?"

"It should depend on the patient's recovery speed, right?" Haruhi spoke up, looking over at Kyoya. "I mean it only makes sense that the recovery duration is dependent on the patient."

"Exactly. Your time spent here, Kaoru, depends on how fast your body recovers. And even when you are able to go home, I doubt they would just stop physical therapy. It would just be less extensive."

"Alright. That's fair enough. But you still didn't tell me what this all includes."

Kyoya sighed and sat down in the chair opposite Natalia next to Kaoru's bed. "Depending on your recovery speed and from what I've discussed with the doctors, full recovery could take weeks, months, even years. Since you are fairly recovered mentally, there will be little therapy to do there-"

"Wait what?! You mean like . . . I'll have to get retaught all of the words I've forgotten? You've got to be kidding me."

Haruhi walked over to the group and shook her head. "Like Kyoya said, you're already pretty much recovered in that aspect. It'd just be a little touching up so that you're able to use your brain to its former capabilities."

"But that's just ridiculous! People forget words all the time. It's not that big of a deal!"

"You may think it isn't but when people forget words randomly, it's usually just a small lapse in memory. When you forget a word it may not be that. Your lapses are more likely to be injury related and we need to fill the gaps." Kyoya took his glasses off of his face to clean them off. "And besides, we don't even know how capable your brain is with other things besides conversation and basic reasoning."

"How long will that take?"

Nat rubbed her thumb over Kaoru's knuckles. "Hun, he already said it depends on how fast you recover."

"Well that and how much he's actually lacking. Like I just said, talking to you in common conversation is not a real test on how cerebrally capable you are."

Kaoru groaned and took a deep breath. "Alright. So what about the rest of this recovery process?"

"Well your injuries are healing nicely so we won't have to worry about spending an eternity in this hospital."

Natalia laughed and looked down at her cup. "It already feels like more than an eternity has been spent here."

Haruhi smiled softly at Natalia. "I know, Nat. But trust me when I say you will be out of here sooner than you think. I have a feeling Kaoru will recover quickly."

Kyoya nodded. "I agree. But we also have to think of the rest of the process. You will be monitored constantly to make sure you stay fully cognizant and responsive. Also to make sure no injuries worsen or new injuries are created. Other than that, the only thing you'll really have to worry about is physical therapy."

Kaoru closed his eyes and sighed. "Oh God . . ."

"I know. I know. It's going to be very tough recovering. Physical therapy usually isn't easy for anyone, but it is necessary, especially if you want to return to your normal life. Your muscles have atrophied slightly because of your lack of movement and lack of legitimate nutrition for the past three weeks. We kept you alive, but you haven't had real substance in your body for quite some time. Also, since you said your body isn't always responsive to your brain, we will have to go through extensive therapy to make sure you're able to move your limbs when you want to, and they listen when you don't want them to move." Kyoya paused and took a deep breath. "There is, however, a bit of a chance that you will never fully recover physically."

Kaoru opened his eyes again quickly. "Wait, what? I thought you said I was going to recover quickly."

"I have a feeling you are. And you can recover at least to the extent of normal physical activity and living a normal daily life. But there is a chance, even after you are 'fully recovered,' that some nerves may be permanently damaged. Take, for example, your wrist. There is a chance, since your wrist was damaged more than some of your body, that some of the nerves are permanently damaged. You may have to eventually wear a brace on your wrist to keep it from spasming or even because it refuses to move. It's unfortunate, but there is a chance that your life won't go completely back to the way it was."

"So I may have a few quirks once I get out of therapy, but nothing major, right? I'll still be able to function as I've been able to before, right?"

"Mostly, yes. You should be able to recover enough to drive, write, type, text, walk, run. You should be able, with time, to partake in activities that require large amounts of energy exerted at once. Weather they be painful or pleasurable."

"Wait what?"

Haruhi groaned and took a sip of her own coffee. "Oh come on, Kyoya. Why did you have to say it like that. That just made it weird. I mean, come on. They're married and have a kid together. You can just tell them that he'll be able to have sex."

Natalia laughed hysterically at the situation while her husband turned red. "Well that's definitely a way to talk about it. Alright, so back to physical therapy."

"Yeah. Back to that."

Kyoya straightened up and looked back at the tablet. "From what I've been told so far and what I can gather from the process of physical therapy and coma recovery, your main focus will be strength and stamina. With strength you'll have to do basic strength building exercises: weights, water therapy, high protein diet."

"High protein diet?"

"Eating healthy isn't a thing when you have to rebuild muscle. They won't overfeed you necessarily. To your standards they will, but you need meet to build up muscle."

"Alright . . . Keep going."

"Other than strength, you'll have to build up your stamina. You'll have to go through muscle memory exercises and things as simple as picking up a ball with your arms at different positions. Balance will also be focused on."

Haruhi stood up and went to look at some of the charts on the table. "Basically, you will be trained, and thoroughly at that, to make sure your entire body functions in every way."

Nat looked over at Haruhi and Kyoya. "So let me just make sure I have this down. His recovery speed depends on his body. His recovery outcome is dependent on how much nerve damage he has. And the recovery process depends on, what exactly?"

"Him. How fast his wounds heal. His physical progress . . . Mainly his attitude."

"What?"

"This is not going to be easy at all." Kyoya stood up and sighed. "This entire process is going to be very difficult for you . . . Both of you. And probably Isabella too. So how fast it goes by does depend heavily on your mind state. If you work with everything well and have a positive disposition then it won't be as time consuming and straining as it would be if you visibly hated and disagreed with the entire process."

Kaoru sat in silence for a moment. "I really hope . . ." He looked over at Natalia. "I hope, if I do take this poorly, that I don't drag you down with me . . . Or at least . . . I don't want this to change Bella at all. Can't we have someone watch her or something? Like when things get bad . . . because I know they will no matter what."

Nat moved in closer to Kaoru and frowned. "Don't say that! You don't know that things will get bad."

"But if they do . . . What about Bella?"

"If they do . . . I don't know. We will probably have to hire someone. I know our first choice would probably be Chris. And I guess Hikaru too since Bella adores him . . . but they're heading back to Los Angeles tonight . . ."

"Hold on. What are you talking about?" Irritation and confusion coated Kaoru's voice.

Natalia looked confused, herself. "What? They can't stay over here forever. They have to get back to L.A. Their surrogate is still there and she's only got a few months left."

"Wait wait wait." Kaoru moved his mouth, but no words came out. A look of shock, confusion, and anger crossed his face as he tried to think of what to say. "What does all of that mean? Since when does my brother live in California? And who- Who is this person he's going back to L.A. with?"

Nat, Kyoya, and Haruhi all went pale. Natalia put her hand over her mouth as she gasped. She looked like she was about to cry. "Nat? Nat . . . Why are you upset? What did I say?" He looked over at Kyoya and Haruhi, both seemingly holding their breath. "Kyoya . . . Haruhi . . . What the hell is going on? What did I say? Why is my wife crying?"

Kyoya returned to himself again after a moment. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, ever so habitually. "Curious . . . You remember Natalia. You remember being married to her and you remember that you conceived a child with her because you recognize Isabella as your daughter . . . But you don't remember your brother's life . . ."

"W-what do you mean?!" Kaoru groaned angrily and stared at the ceiling. "Will one of you three please explain to me what's going on?"

Haruhi stood up and looked over at Kaoru. She was still ghostly pale. "What exactly do you remember before you got into this coma?"

"That's kind of a vague question, Haruhi."

Natalia regained her composure and spoke slowly to her husband through attempts at keeping the tears at bay. "Event wise. What do you remember? Do you remember our wedding, for instance?"

Kaoru squinted his eyes in thought and paused for a moment. "Well . . . I remember you. And I remember being married to you. I remember that we have a daughter together named Isabella . . . But like . . . I can't actually picture our wedding right now. I don't remember it."

Haruhi sighed and took over as Natalia began to cry again. "Just ignore Nat for a moment . . . What is the last major event in your life that you remember?"

"What? Why?"

"Just answer the question Kaoru. Please."

"Okay . . . Uhm . . ." He stared above him for a moment more as he thought back to the last big event in his life. "I think . . . The most recent thing that's coming to me is . . . I remember going to Boston . . . But after that . . . High school graduation. Yeah. When we graduated."

Haruhi gasped, laughed dryly, and ran her hand over her face. "So you . . . You don't remember anything after that . . . Besides Nat and Bella?"

"I guess so, yeah."

"Do you even know what country we're in right now?" Haruhi took a long breath before questioning him.

Kaoru looked at his friend as if she had ten heads. "What kind of question is that? Where else would we be besides Japan?"

At that, Natalia let go of Kaoru's hand as her face went blank. She pushed her chair out quietly and walked out of the room. "Nat . . . Hun, where are you going?"

Haruhi groaned and ran after her. "Nat! Nat wait up!"

Kaoru turned to the only other person left in the room. "What the hell just happened, Kyoya?"

Kyoya ran his hands through his hair and sat back down. "Well . . . We aren't in Japan. We are actually around ten thousand miles from Japan."

"What the- What kind of joke is this?"

"It's not a joke, Kaoru. Right now we are in Rome, Italy. Your current residence is about thirty minutes away. You live in Fiumicino, Rome, Italy, which is about ten minutes from the airport, with Natalia and Isabella."

Kaoru's face went pale. "Holy shit . . . Do I - Do I have amnesia or something? But . . . No that wouldn't make sense. I remember all of you guys . . ."

"But you don't remember Chris. That was kind of the first clue that you had it. Then when you said you don't remember your own wedding and then you still thought you lived in Japan . . .It's called post traumatic amnesia or PTA. I honestly thought you would have a more severe case before you were completely awake. When you woke up, though, you didn't seem to have it at all. Now we see that you do."

"That's why Nat got upset . . ."

"I assume so."

Kaoru sighed. "So . . . What is- How much am I missing right now?"

"Well seeing as, besides Natalia and Isabella, you only remember things from before high school graduation . . . A lot."

Kaoru closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Alright. Tell me everything."

"Everything? That would take a while . . . And I don't think that's the best option. It might overwhelm you. All of this information that you should already know thrown at you at once might not be the best option."

"Well at least tell me what Natalia was talking about . . ."

Kyoya took a deep breath too before speaking. "I honestly think that Hikaru should tell you."

"Tell him what?" Hikaru had just walked into the room, Chris close behind.

Kyoya looked back at Hikaru and Chris. "Where's Bella?"

"Nat and Haruhi took her. Haruhi said something about needing to help Nat calm down?" Chris walked in and stood next to Kyoya as Hikaru walked to the other side of the bed. "Why is Nat upset?"

"Well . . ." Kyoya started but Kaoru interrupted him.

"Apparently I have a lot to catch up on."

"Wait . . . What?" Hikaru looked at his brother with confusion.

"Apparently. . . I guess I have amnesia? I don't know this whole thing is pissing me off and I feel like it's some sick joke . . . But according to Kyoya, I have amnesia. And that's why Nat is upset I guess. It seems like I can't remember anything past high school graduation besides Nat and Bella. Well that and that I was driving home from a work trip when I ended up here. That's about it."

Hikaru scratched his head and sighed. "Wait. How do you know?"

"Because Nat mentioned something about you that I had no idea about. And then they kept asking me questions that I had no idea how to answer. Well I did have ideas. Just not the right ones apparently."

"So why was Nat upset?"

"I don't remember my wedding. And I didn't know we were in Italy." There was silence for a moment before Kaoru continued. "I mean I was shocked at first but . . . It's nothing completely weird and unrealistic."

"Well was anything they told you unrealistic and weird?"

Kyoya cleared his throat to get Hikaru's attention. "That's what we were actually talking about before you walked in. That's what I want you to tell him. It's best if he learns about your current life from you."

Hikaru's eyes went wide and he looked over at Chris, who had gone pale. "Wait so . . . You don't know anything about my current life? Nothing at all?"

"Natalia mentioned something about you going _back_ to L.A. and I got very confused so . . . Yeah nothing."

Hikaru sat down and sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "What exactly did Nat mention to you?"

"Something about L.A. like I just said. She also mentioned some kind of reason you had to go back . . . Oh yeah. And someone you were going back with?"

Chris ran his hand over his face and looked at Hikaru. He mouthed some words to him as he gestured to the door. " _Should I go . . .Or?"_

Hikaru shook his head and spoke out loud to Chris. "No. Stay. It's fine."

Chris looked over at Kyoya and frowned. "Is it just me . . . Or is it everyone?"

Kyoya looked back at Chris and gave a small shrug. "As far as we know it is just you. He remembers Nat and Bella. And all of us from high school. But we haven't mentioned anyone else. Nat mentioned you and he had no idea what she was talking about."

Kaoru looked over at Chris and Kyoya, confusion and a bit of sadness washing over his face. "Oh . . . Dammit. You're someone I'm supposed to remember, aren't you?"

Chris's eyes went wide. "Me? Well I don't know . . . Supposed to remember is a very tricky phrase to use -"

"I met you before I went into this coma . . ."

"Yes." Chris sighed and scratched his chin. "I actually used to live with you and Natalia. I'm Natalia's best friend."

Kaoru looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. "This whole thing is going to drive me insane."

Hikaru looked over at Chris. "You do realise Natalia is not the only relation you have to him anymore, right?"

Chris looked at Hikaru and sighed. "I didn't want to say too much! He doesn't even remember me so why would I throw all of that on him at once?"

Hikaru glared at Chris. "Because I was asked to tell him about my current life and you are capable of helping with that."

Kaoru looked over at Hikaru and glared at him. "Hikaru if you don't tell me what's going on then I will have Natalia shave your head."

Hikaru sighed and looked back at his brother. "His relation to you isn't only through Nat."

"Clears up so much, Hikaru. Thank you. Now I still know nothing about this still nameless man."

"His name is Christian."

Chris looked back at Kyoya again. "So he doesn't remember me. So what about Sofia and Samantha . . . And all the kids besides Bella."

"What? Who are you talking about? What kids? Who's kids?" He looked back at Hikaru, growing angrier and more frustrated by the second. "And will you please finish what you were saying about him?" He gestured to Chris.

Kyoya stood up. "I really don't think we should say much more. It would be too overwhelming."

Kaoru groaned. "Oh will you stop that? How am I ever supposed to recover when no one will tell me what's going on? I won't get anywhere if all I can focus on is what you all mean when you're talking to me."

Hikaru sighed and looked at Kaoru. "I think Kyoya's right. I don't want to throw all of this at you at once."

"Alright at least tell me what you were talking about about kids. Do you have kids or something, Hikaru?"

"Well. Not exactly. Not yet. That's kind of why Chris and I need to go back to California. We're about to have a kid."

Kaoru froze for a moment. "Wait . . . You two . . .Are you two like together or something?"

Chris laughed dryly and ran his hand over his face. "We're married, Kaoru."

"Holy shit . . ." Kaoru stopped talking for a moment and made a face that looked like he was thinking of a long paragraph of response. He looked over at Hikaru, confused. "When did you realise you were actually gay?"

"Of all the things you could have asked just then, that's what you ask me?"

"What?! I know we like had that gay act thing in high school but I thought you were in love with Haruhi."

"I was."

"But you're married to- Sorry what's your name again?"

"Chris. Well Christian. But you usually just call me Chris like everyone else."

"Right. Got it." He looked back over at his brother. "So you were in love with Haruhi. But then you finally realised that you were gay. And you married Chris? And now you two are having a child soon?"

"That's pretty much it. Well I mean there is a lot more to the whole story. But that's the general overview." Hikaru sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

Kaoru went back to staring at the ceiling. "Yeah. Kyoya was right. I'll learn the rest as we go on with this. I'm a little . . . wow . . . right now."

Kyoya nodded and went to leave the room. "I'm going to talk with some of the doctors about starting therapy."

"Alright."

Chris sighed and went to follow Kyoya. "I'll go relieve Nat of Bella duty."

"Can you tell her to come back, Chris?"

He nodded at Kaoru and smiled. "Sure."

"Oh and Chris?"

He stopped in the doorway and looked back. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry for not remembering who you are."

"No need to apologise. It's nothing you can help." Chris went and rounded the doorway to walk down the hall. As he walked away he shouted back to Kaoru. "It was nice re-meeting you though!"

* * *

**_Three weeks later - 28 October 2022_ **

"So how was therapy today?"

Natalia sat down in the chair next to the hospital bed and watched the television that Kaoru was watching. Isabella went over to her stack of toys and coloring books that she had brought to the hospital over the past few weeks.

Kaoru continued to stare at the television as he sat up in the bed and responded to Nat with a tired tone. "It was therapy."

Natalia sighed and drank some of her water she had in her hand. "Anything new today? Any improvements?"

"I don't have to use that damn wheelchair anymore. And we don't do water therapy anymore. Just regular physical therapy."

She turned and smiled wide at her husband. "Hun, that's fantastic! That's a major improvement!"

"I still can't go home though."

Nat grabbed Kaoru's hand and held it close to her. "That's okay though. I'm sure once you improve a little more, they'll let you go home."

"You said that last week, Nat."

"I know but-"

Kaoru looked over at Nat and frowned. "I just want to be able to lay in my own bed. With you. I want to be in my own home with my family."

At that moment, Bella came running up to the bed with a doll in her hand. "Daddy! You gotta judge my fashions!"

"Alright. Let's see what you got, Bells." Bella pulled herself onto the bed and sat in her father's lap, facing him. She held up the doll, subsequently showing how every one of her fingers had a bandaid on it. "What happened to your fingers, Bella?"

"The pointy thingy hurts me."

Kaoru looked over at Nat. "You let her use a needle by herself?"

"She wouldn't let me help. I just threaded it for her and watched."

"Daddy! C'mon! The model's fallin sleeps!" Bella held the doll closer to her father's face. The doll was wearing a long, v-neck toga dress. The torso was made of a very detailed and colorful floral pattern fabric with bright yellows and purples. The bottom of the dress was made of yellow chiffon fabric that was brought up on either side of the dress to give the illusion of pockets. The stitching was hasty and messy but the idea and overall design was amazing. It was unbelievable that a four year old girl was capable of making this. It was a major improvement from anything she had done before.

Kaoru looked at it wide eyed. "Wow, Bells. This is really pretty. And you did this all by yourself?"

Isabella nodded and smiled a wide gap-toothed grin. "Well. Mommy helps a little."

"How about this. Since you did such a great job with that dress all by yourself, when you get older and Daddy gets better, we will make that dress for you for real. Would you like that?"

Bella moved closer to Kaoru and hugged him tight. Kaoru kissed the top of Bella's head and laughed. "Now why don't you give your model a pretty hairstyle too?"

Isabella laughed and nodded. She then crawled off of the bed and ran back to her corner of creativity. Kaoru smiled softly and then looked back at Natalia. "I don't think I'll ever be able to actually make that dress by hand."

Natalia frowned at her husband. "What, why?"

"It's like Kyoya said, Nat. It's my wrist. I'm right-handed and my right wrist is garbage. It got destroyed in the wreck and even after the surgery it hasn't been able to function properly. And . . . I don't know . . . Sometimes it really sets me off."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Sometimes . . . When my body - especially my wrist- doesn't agree with me . . . I guess I snap. I don't know. I get really mad about it. According to the therapists, I have huge anxiety attacks when it happens."

"What like you get all shaky and panicky?"

"No. That's why I didn't see it as anxiety. I get really really mad and it happens suddenly. And then . . . I guess I kind of block everything out. It's weird. But they say that it's a certain type of anxiety attack so I believe them . . ."

"I'm sorry, hun . . . I wish I could do something about it . . ."

Kaoru grabbed his wife's hand again and sighed. "I know, Nat. I do too." He paused before continuing. "Can we do the memory test thing now? To ya know get my mind off that."

Natalia nodded and kissed his hand. "Sure. Okay so . . . How old is everyone of us adults?"

Kaoru groaned. "We're all in our thirties. I know that. Actual ages are still blurry to me."

"That's alright. I can never remember the exact ages either. Okay next. Quick overview of Hikaru's current family situation. Go."

"Oh gosh. Okay. So. Hikaru is officially gay. He has been for . . . Oh no. Wait. Hold on. Well he has been his entire life but he like came out . . . Is it seven years ago?"

"Around about. Keep going."

"Okay so he came out seven years ago. And that's how we all found out he was dating Chris. Because Chris is your . . . He's not your real brother, right? He's just your childhood best friend." Natalia nodded. "Okay and then they got married two years ago. After Chris broke up with him . . . I still don't fully understand that. But anyways. Then a year after they got married they finally agreed on having kids. And now they are using a surrogate to have their first child. And the first child is Hikaru's biological child. And the baby will be born in . . . Hmm . . . about three and a half months?"

"There you go! That's it! Okay onto the next person. You know what, just tell me what you remember being taught about everyone."

"I'll only do quick overviews though."

"Alright. Go for it."

"So all of us are married. Honi-sempai got married first. Then Mori and Sofia. Then us. Well no. Kyoya was before Mori and Sofia. But he got divorced. And then us after Mori and Sofia. And then Tamaki and Haruhi. Then Kyoya because he and Sam eloped after their daughter was born . . . Oh no what's her name . . . I'm drawing a completely blank right now."

"Zoe."

"Right. Yeah. They eloped after Zoe was born." He looked back at Nat and smiled. "You know, I'm honestly not surprised about Kyoya at all. I felt like he would have a relationship like Tamaki's dad did. I had a hunch, ya know?"

Nat laughed at Kaoru and nodded. "Alright. Whatever you say. Keep going."

"Oh yeah. And then Hikaru and Chris were the last to get married. And then . . . Kids. Tamaki and Haruhi were the first to have kids. Haruhi got pregnant shortly after they got engaged. Aaand . . . Oh gosh . . . Did they have more than one kid? I feel like they had more."

"They had twins. A boy and a girl."

"Oh yeah! And both names start with the letter A. But other than that I'm lost. All of these names are still not there with me.

"Antoine and Akemi. You still got a little ways to go."

"Alright. Who had kids next? Oh yeah, Kyoya. Zoe was born like a month after the twins and no one knew about it. And then . . . Oh God. What's Mori's wife's name again?"

"Sofia. And Kyoya's wife's name is Samantha."

Right. Sofia had . . . a boy . . . No the boy is the second born . . . she had a girl first. Then the next kid born was . . . Yeah it was a boy."

"Yukimi is the girl and Adrian is the boy."

"Got it. Then we had Bella. And then Kyoya and Sam had a boy whose name is . . ."

"Kazuto."

"Okay. Yeah. And then . . . Wait this is when Sofia gave birth really prematurely . . . That was with a boy. I think I remember his name. It's similar to the last name you said . . .Hold on . . .Oh yeah. That was when Sofia had Katsuo. And now Hikaru and Chris are about to have a baby. So we're all caught up."

"Very nice. You relearned all of that very nicely!"

"I just wish I didn't have all those damn names are going to kill me."

"I know. There's a lot to remember."

Bella walked over to her parents lethargically and climbed up into her mother's lap. She tugged on Natalia's shirt and put her face in her mother's neck. "Mommy. I'm sleepy."

"But we're still visiting Daddy, Bella. You can't go to sleep yet."

At that, Isabella whined and curled further into her mother.

Kaoru laughed and smiled at them. "Go ahead. Take her home. She needs to sleep."

"But we just got here."

"You've been here for at least an hour. Take her home, hun. It's alright."

"Do you want us to come back later tonight?"

He shook his head and took Nat's hand. "It's alright. You don't have to. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

Natalia stood up and held Bella with one arm. She leaned down and hugged and kissed Kaoru before leaving. "Bella, give Daddy a kiss goodbye."

She leaned out of her mother's arms halfway and gave her father a sleepy kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, Bells. Take care of Mommy for me, okay."

Bella nodded and rubbed her eyes as she moved back into Natalia's arms. Natalia moved to leave the room, but stopped short. "Oh. We forgot something when I was quizzing you."

"Did we really?"

"Well we didn't forget it. I just found out this morning."

"Oh. Okay. What happened."

"Apparently Haruhi's pregnant again."

Kaoru's eyes went wide. "Oh. Well that is new. Tell her and Tamaki I said congratulations."

"Will do. See you tomorrow, hun. Love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

**_Two months later - 29 December 2022_ **

_He sat on top of the covers on his hotel room bed, laptop in front of him lighting the dark room. He didn't scroll. He didn't click. He didn't type, copy, browse. He sat. He stared. He waited._

_She lay under the covers of her hotel room bed, blanket under her arm eyes open to the dark room. She didn't sleep. She didn't try. She stared. She sighed. She waited._

_And then she sat up._

" _You have to get some sleep some time, Kaoru. We have a plane to catch in the morning so that we can meet with your mother one last time before her official retirement."_

" _Just give me a minute."_

_She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "You know . . . He's not going to respond, Kaoru."_

_He continued to stare at the screen. "You don't know that."_

" _He hasn't made contact with anyone since the two of us started dating. And that was two years ago. What makes you think he'll respond now?"_

_Kaoru pulled his knees to his chest and sighed. "I don't know . . ."_

_Natalia moved out from under the covers and closed the gap between the two of them. She moved close and pulled her boyfriend into a hug. "I know these two years have been very hard on you because of him . . . But everything will be fine . . . Trust me." She kissed him on the cheek and ran her hand through his hair. "Now let's get some sleep so we can be ready to head out of Milan and back to Tokyo to see your family."_

" _Hikaru's a huge part of my family, Nat. And we don't know where he is."_

_She sighed and broke the half-hearted embrace. "He's probably still in Boston, Kaoru."_

" _Tamaki and Haruhi both say they haven't seen him since we started dating, Nat."_

" _We need to sleep, Kaoru." She moved and closed the laptop in front of Kaoru and took it over to her nightstand, allowing the room to darken completely._

" _What the hell, Nat!? What if he responds?"_

" _Okay, listen to me. IF he responds - and that is a very very strong IF - all of your social media, email, texting, and calling - all of that is linked to your phone. If he responds, you'll know. Now get some sleep."_

" _Now, Natalia darling. Are you sure you don't want to try on anything else? You are just the perfect size to try on all of my favorite designs."_

_Natalia laughed and waved her off. "Thank you, Mrs. Hitachiin, but you've already been so generous with letting me use your exclusive work. Also, you do seem to be in a hurry. I would hate to keep you from whatever you need to do."_

_Mrs. Hitachiin grabbed Natalia's hands and smiled. "I always have time to share my line with worthy members of the fashion community. Promoting my work is always a treat in itself . . . Well I guess it won't be my work anymore, will it?"_

" _That's kinda what we've been discussing for the past year, Mom." Kaoru stood in front of a large full-body mirror, adjusting the sleeves on his shirt._

" _I can't believe I'm leaving my entire life's work to you. Your sleeves aren't even rolled up properly." She walked over to her son and fixed his sleeves immediately. "It's not like I had much of an option, anyway. You both have always been very into fashion but your brother tended to lean towards technology like your father. And it's not like he would respond if I asked him to join you two in taking over for me . . ."_

_Kaoru lowered his face as his mother finished fussing with his outfit. "Is that all, Mom?"_

_She sighed and cupped her son's face in her palm. She kissed his forehead and smiled. "Cheer up, Kaoru. You and your brother are both grown men who are completely capable of making your own decisions. If Hikaru is deciding to cut off from everyone he used to know, including his family, that's his choice. There's nothing we can do. Let him wallow in his little hole he made for himself while you travel the world and continue our brilliant name with that gorgeous and perfect girl you have there. Have fun, Kaoru. Have fun with what you have now." She smiled and kissed her son again. "Now, you two can stay for as long as you like . . . I mean this is your home Kaoru . . . but I have to go meet up with your father and sister at the airport. I think we're taking her to India. There's a lot of great fashion and technology thriving there now. Best to expose her when she's still young."_

_She moved over to Natalia and kissed her on the cheek. "Take care of my son for me. He may smart and the nicer and more sociable of the two boys, but he's lost without Hikaru. Fill that gap. I know you can. You've practically been a Hitachiin woman since you started dating Kaoru."_

_And with that she was gone. Natalia moved over to where Kaoru was still standing and sighed, giving him a sad smile. "Am I allowed to fill the gap?"_

" _I really wish you didn't have to." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug. "But I knew you were either going to fill a gap or make a section for yourself. So please . . . fill the gap."_

" _What if he's . . . What if . . ."_

" _Don't start with that again, Kaoru. I told you already. If that was the case, someone else would have that mailing address and we would be notified."_

" _But what if no one knows?"_

" _I'm pretty sure someone would find out after a while." She sighed and moved to finish packing her suitcase as he stood over his unpacked suitcase. "I thought after we found out where he was you'd be fine."_

" _He still won't say anything, though. Nat, what if that wasn't his address? What if we were wrong? What if he's . . ." Kaoru went quiet and stared blankly at the empty suitcase in front of him. "What if he really is gone, Nat?"_

" _Kaoru that's ridiculous! He's not-"_

" _But what if he is, Nat!? What then!? We just find out that he hasn't been responding these past three years because he can't! We find out that he's been rotting in some apartment God knows where and just live with that!?"_

_Natalia sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I don't know what to tell you other than I don't know. I don't think that happened. I don't think he mysteriously died in some stupid way. No matter how much of an idiot I think he is for disappearing like this, I don't think he's dumb enough to die for good. I don't think he's that selfish."_

" _I don't think it would be selfish if he did . . ." Kaoru walked around the bed and toward the hotel room door._

" _Kaoru . . . Where are you going? We need to finish packing."_

_He turned and forced a sad smile to his girlfriend. "I'm just going to get some air. I'll be back soon. I love you, Nat."_

" _If you love me then stop letting your brother ruin everything."_

" _What?" He stopped. Back facing Natalia and hand on the doorknob._

" _I - I hate him . . ."_

" _Don't. He hasn't done anything to make you hate him."_

_Natalia stood up and laughed dryly. "Are you serious right now? We can't have a real relationship because it just makes you think of Hikaru. Everything makes you think of him. It doesn't matter what I do, as long as you don't have Hikaru in your life - no - As long as you think about Hikaru, you don't think about me. I hate to be the narcissist here but we are in a relationship, Kaoru. Relationships are supposed to be mutual. Not me just working as hard as I possibly can to make sure you don't go completely insane because of your terrible brother."_

" _Nat, please. He isn't terrible. Please stop insulting him."_

" _Kaoru . . . Wh- No. Just . . . Just go get some air or whatever. I'll pack for you." She went to the other side of the bed and started putting his clothes in the suitcase._

_Kaoru noticed that Natalia had started crying while she was packing. He went to move towards her and comfort her. "Nat . . . I'm sorry- I didn't mean to-"_

" _Just go, Kaoru. I'm fine."_

" _Kaoru, are you seriously crying right now? You do realise that this isn't a sad time, right?"_

_Kaoru laughed and wiped his face off. "I know I know. I'm just - You have no idea how happy I am about this."_

" _About what? The wedding? I mean I know you're happy for us, but isn't this type of happiness reserved for your own wedding?"_

_Kaoru waved him off and laughed again. "I already cried at my wedding, remember?"_

" _Well, c'mon. Have fun. I didn't spend all this money for me. Only about 85% of it was for my own satisfaction." He looked at Kaoru and smiled, putting his arm on his shoulders. "This is a happy time, Kaoru. For once I didn't fuck anything up."_

_Kaoru pulled him into a tight embrace. "I'm just so glad we're both happy again. I'm so glad you came back."_

" _Trust me. I am too." The hug continued for a moment more. "Hey, uhm, Kaoru. You might want to stop hugging me now because Nat might throw something. Or light something on fire."_

_Kaoru pulled away and looked for his wife who was talking to her best friend, the other groom. "She doesn't actually hate you, Hikaru."_

" _If she doesn't hate me then I'm not an alcoholic."_

_Christian and Natalia walked over to join the twins. "Hey babe." Hikaru leaned forward and kissed his husband whilst simultaneously reaching for the glass of champagne in Chris's hand._

_Chris laughed and pulled his hand away after kissing Hikaru. "You're on the 'no drink' list for a reason, Hikaru. Groom or not, no drinking. I'm not letting you relapse."_

_Hikaru took the glass from Chris's hand and smirked. "Oh c'mon. It's our wedding night. I'm allowed to have a little fun."_

_As soon as Hikaru moved the glass to his lips, a hand reached from behind him and took the glass, walking away swiftly. "What the- Who?" He turned to face the woman who took his drink. "What was that about, Mom?"_

" _Oh this?" She held up the drink and smiled. "You don't need this silly drink, Hikaru. I'm sure you and Christian will have plenty of fun tonight without a drop of alcohol. Plus, I thought your sister might like to try some of the champagne."_

" _Mom. She's only thirteen."_

_Ageha walked by and laughed as her mother handed her the glass of champagne. "That's right. I'm only thirteen and I already know when I've consumed too much alcohol. And what it means to put the bottle down." She held up the glass and drank the liquid in the glass before walking away with her mother._

_As she walked away, Hikaru turned back to the other three, who were all laughing hysterically. "What's so funny?"_

_Chris closed the gap between the two of them and wrapped his arms around Hikaru's neck. "Oh nothing. It's just fantastic that everything is settled." He kissed Hikaru and laughed again. "That and you tend to mouth everything your mother says. It's really weird actually. But it's cute."_

_Hikaru glanced over at Kaoru. "It's great to see that we're all happy again, isn't it?"_

_The week went by faster than she thought. He called her in between meetings and presentations. The three of them video chatted before Isabella went to bed every night._

_Everything worked out great. And soon enough, Kaoru was on his way home._

_His flight was at 10pm. About an hour later, he was back in the city that he and his wife and child currently resided in. Rome._

_The younger of the Hitachiin twins had a car waiting for him so that he could drive himself home. Once in the car, he gave his wife a quick call._

" _Hey Nat. I just got back to the airport. I'm on my way home right now. I'll be home in like ten minutes."_

" _Alright, see you soon. And try not to take longer than that because Bella refuses to sleep until you get home."_

_He laughed into the phone. "Okay, I'll be there soon don't worry. Okay. Yeah. Love you too. Bye."_

_He hung up the phone through the monitor in the car and continued the drive home in peaceful silence. There were barely any cars on the road. It wasn't seriously late but apparently it was late enough that nightlife was slowing down._

_He stopped at an intersection just outside of the town he resides in. When he saw it was clear for him to go, he went. It was clear for him to go. It was clear. So he went._

_It seemed to happen in slow motion, almost. He saw the car once he started going. The flash of lights blinded him for a moment, but he was able to see the other driver clearly. Bloodshot eyes. Lack of focus. Looked disheveled. And of course, the car was barely able to stop swerving for a split second._

" _How ironic. A drunk driver." He thought to himself as he realized he wouldn't be able to swerve out of the way. A head on collision was inevitable. He closed his eyes and thought of those closest to him. "Bella . . . Make sure Mommy stays happy. And Nat. Don't let Hikaru leave again. I guess it's my turn to go away for a while. Hopefully it won't be long at all."_

_The slow motion fell back into real time as the collision occurred. Head on with the driver's side of the car. The clash of metal. The force of the impact. The scrape against the street. Silence. Silence. Silence. Sirens. Sirens. Sirens._

He sat up in bed and clutched his head. He was shaking, sweating, shivering.

She sat up after him, startled and confused. "Kaoru what's wrong?! Is everything alright? Did something happen?"

He reached over to the nightstand to grab his phone. He felt the glass screen and attempted to grasp it. His right wrist stiffened and his hand locked in place. No matter how much he tried, at this point in time his right hand would not cooperate with him. He groaned and sighed and did everything in his power to force his hand to cooperate. When it finally moved, it spasmed and knocked his phone to the ground.

Natalia got up and ran to the other side of the bed to pick it up. The screen was shattered. "We'll get you a new one, hun."

Kaoru ran his left hand through his hair in a rough manner and groaned. "I shouldn't need a new phone, dammit."

Natalia set the phone back on the nightstand and stood close to her husband. "Are you alright, hun? You woke up suddenly . . . Did something happen?"

He sat there staring blankly at his lap. "He died . . . He died for more than three years . . . And when he finally came back to life . . . I died . . ."

"What was that, hun? You were mumbling. I couldn't hear you."

Kaoru got up and slid some shorts on over his boxers and went to leave the room. "It was nothing. Just - Just a bad dream I guess."

Nat followed him out the room and downstairs into the kitchen. "What was it about?"

"Dumb stuff. I had a dream that . . . That Hikaru disappeared for five years. I thought he was dead for three . . . And that's how became a terrible alcoholic . . ."

Nat put her hand on Kaoru shoulder to stop him in the kitchen doorway. "Kaoru . . . that actually happened."

"What?! No it didn't! When did that happen?"

"You remembered that Hikaru was an alcoholic, but you never remembered why or how? And you never thought to question it?"

"I-I just . . ."

"Wait. What else did you dream about?"

"He would never respond. I took over the business for Mom. She told you to fill the gap. I thought he was dead. He came back. He got married. We were all happy. And then . . ."

"And then what?"

"It was just a dumb nightmare it doesn't matter, Nat."

"Yes it does, Kaoru. These are things you didn't remember when you woke up. It's important how much of your memory was recovered."

"Nat. C'mon. I don't want to talk-"

"Kaoru, please."

He sighed and paused for a moment. "And then I got hit by a drunk driver just as I was getting into this town."

"Wait so you remember the crash now? You remember exactly what happened? What exactly do you-"

"Just drop it, Nat!"

"But this is import-"

"I don't want to talk about it, alright!" Kaoru had gone pale as he walked over to the counter to look for his medication. "I woke up in a cold sweat for a reason, Natalia. It's obviously not something that I would openly talk about without freaking out so get off my back about it. Let me just take my pain meds for my wrist and we can go back to bed and forget this ever happened."

Natalia was the one to shout this time. "We can't just forget about this! You've forgotten enough already! YOU FORGOT OUR WEDDING AND THE BIRTH OF OUR CHILD!" She paused and held her tongue for a moment. "I need to know how much you remember. Please."

He started to snap. "You think I'm okay with the fact that I don't remember seeing you walk down the aisle!? You think I'm perfectly content with not remembering one word of our vows?! YOU THINK I'M HAPPY THAT I DON'T REMEMBER THE BIRTH OF MY DAUGHTER?!"

"I never said that. I-"

Kaoru gripped the bottle of pills tight and continued to yell. "THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU BRING IT UP?!"

As Natalia started to respond, Kaoru attempted to open the bottle of pills, miserably failing because of his right hand's lack of cooperation. "I'm sorry. . . I didn't mean to-"

Pills fell all over the counter and floor. He had just thrown the bottle against the wall angrily. "You didn't mean to what?!"

Natalia paused and looked at the mess with an empty yet sad stare. "You could have asked me to open the bottle."

Kaoru moved both hands to his hair and groaned angrily. "I shouldn't have to! That's the thing!"

"I know you shouldn't have to! I know none of this should have happened to you! But guess what, IT DID! And I'm supposed to help you so let me help, dammit!"

"You're my WIFE, Natalia! You're not my doctor! You're not any of my five hundred fucking therapists! I'm not supposed to need you to help! That's their job!"

"You have two therapists, Kaoru. And I am supposed to help. It's my job too." She moved down and started picking up the pills off of the floor.

He was fuming at this point. "Wha- NO IT ISN'T! You did NOT sign up for this when we got marri-"

"IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH." She stood up and glared at him. "I am with you in sickness and in health. It doesn't matter if you remember our actual vows or not. Everyone knows that part."

She moved over, took two of the pills that hadn't fallen, poured a glass of water, and brought it to Kaoru. He looked at her, still fuming. He spoke through clenched teeth. "I am not sick."

"Yes you are. If you weren't sick, you wouldn't have to take medication. Now take it so we can go back to sleep."

He moved to take the glass with his right hand. As soon as he was about to grasp the glass, his wrist spasmed again and smacked the glass out of Natalia's hand. "GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!"

"Kaoru, stop shouting! You'll wake up Isabella!" She went to clean up the broken glass.

"Leave it, Nat!"

She got up and went to grab another glass for water. He spoke quieter. "Don't bother. I'm going back to bed."

Natalia filled the glass with water and stood in the doorway so Kaoru couldn't leave. "You're taking your medication first. You need it."

Kaoru took a deep breath to compose himself. "I said don't bother."

"I'm not moving until you take this."

He snapped. Without thinking, Kaoru grabbed the glass from his wife's hand and threw it across the kitchen, shattering it. Natalia immediately went to clean it up. "I SAID LEAVE IT, NATALIA!"

"Why!?"

He turned to her as she stood from cleaning up the broken glass. "Why what?"

She faced him head on, tears streaming down her face. "Why do you have to be so much like your asshole brother! I thought you were different! I thought you were better!"

He closed the gap between them and grabbed Natalia by her shoulders. "WOULD YOU FUCKING STOP!? STOP INSULTING MY BROTHER! FOR ONCE! YOU'VE NEVER ONCE HAD ANYTHING NICE TO SAY ABOUT HIM AND NOW YOU'RE USING HIM TO INSULT ME!?"

His grip was tightening with every word he said.

Natalia was crying more now. "Kaoru . . . Please . . . Let go . . . You're hurting me . . ."

"YOU-" He froze mid sentence after he registered Natalia's words. He looked at his hands and his eyes went wide. He let go of his wife almost immediately and quickly backed away.

"Kaoru . . ." She walked towards him to try to calm him down. He started shaking.

"No. Don't." His anger had yet to relinquish itself, though. "You've already done and said enough." He mumbled under his breath to himself. "And so have I . . ."

"I was just trying to help!" She moved closer, causing him to throw his hand up and back away.

"Well you didn't." His words were quiet, sharp, cold. Those three words sent an icy blade through Natalia's chest, so cold it felt as if her chest was burning. He turned and left the kitchen.

"Where are you going?!"

Without a word, he walked past the kitchen, through the living room, and out the back door to isolate himself in the peace and quiet of their backyard.

Natalia stood in the kitchen doorway, crying and shaking, hands cut up from broken glass. She turned back to face the kitchen so she could finish cleaning up, but as she was turning back to the room, she noticed a figure, hiding behind the railing on the stairs. As soon as the figure noticed Natalia was looking at her, she ran back up the steps, teddy bear in tow.

Natalia gasped. " _She just saw all of that . . ."_ She thought to herself for a moment before running up after her daughter. "Bella, wait!"

* * *

**_One month after that - 25 January 2023_ **

A glance around the stairs in the foyer and the living room could be seen. The room was silent. Void of people. Void of movement. The room was a mess. Toys surrounding the couch. Pillows and blankets everywhere. She walked further into the living room, crossing the kitchen doorway on her way. As she passed the kitchen, something crunched under her feet. Glass. Shattered glass.

"What the-?"

She moved her foot and continued to the living room. The mess was unbearable. She sighed shakily and went down on her knees to clean up.

"I can't believe our house is such a mess. I shouldn't have to be doing this. We need to rehire our maid. I can't believe everything is a mess." Her words were shaky, quick, mumbled as she hastily cleaned up the room. Her motions were fast yet precise, careful yet rushed, eased yet robotic as she finished straightening the large room. Once her work was done in that room, she moved back to the broken glass and sighed once more.

"How did this even happen?I know I shouldn't have gone out on a run. It's still cold outside anyways. What the hell was I thinking? I left them here alone. What if he hurt himself again . . ." She moved and swiftly cleaned up the shattered mess and then proceeded to mop and dry the spot on the floor to prevent further injury. As she was wiping down the floor by hand, he walked down the stairs, right arm in a splint, left arm holding their daughter.

He looked at his wife, concerned. "Oh. Hey hun. You're back from your run already?"

Without looking up from her task, she hastily responded to her husband. "I didn't want to be away too long."

He walked up next to his wife and crouched down to her level, their daughter still in his arms. "Nat . . . Are you alright? You seem stressed . . ."

She finished drying the floor and looked up at her husband and daughter. "I'm fine." She looked over and saw that her daughter was holding onto her own index finger and frowning. She moved close and gently held her daughter's hand. "What happened, Bella? Are you okay?"

Isabella frowned again and turned to bury her face in her father's neck. "Kaoru, what happened?"

"I broke a glass and she was trying to help clean it up when she cut her finger. I cleaned her up and gave her a Harry Potter bandaid and everything but she's still upset about it."

Natalia sighed and looked down at the newly cleaned spot. "Why did you break the glass?"

Kaoru sighed and gestured to his incapacitated arm. "Hun, you know why I broke the glass. It wasn't on purpose."

Natalia walked to the kitchen and sighed again before she started speaking in a rushed tone. "We need to schedule more physical therapy for you."

"No."

She walked to the refrigerator and pulled out some random ingredients. "You're not back to where you were yet. You need more therapy."

Kaoru followed close behind her after putting Bella down so she could go play with her toys in the living room again. "Hun. I don't need any more physical therapy and you know that. Before I even started therapy, Kyoya told us that I may have some permanent nerve damage." He noticed that she was preoccupying herself with the random ingredients she had just pulled out. "What are you doing?"

"Making dinner."

"It's two in the afternoon."

"Lunch."

"We already ate, remember?"

"Then dinner. It's a long prepping process."

Kaoru leaned against the counter next to his wife. "What are you making then?"

"I don't know yet."

"Then how can you say it has a long prepping process?"

Natalia ignored her husband's last question and moved to the other counter next to the stove so that her back was to him. "Why don't you go play with Isabella?"

"Nat, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just have a lot on my mind. Don't worry about it."

"I can't not worry about you. You're my wife."

"I don't think it's a big enough deal to talk about."

"Talk to me, Nat. We are married. It's what we are supposed to do. Like I said, you're my wife."

Natalia froze in place and let out another shaky sigh before continuing to chop vegetables. "I am your wife . . . And your primary caretaker at the moment. And Bella's primary caretaker. And I clean the house. I cook the food. I do all the laundry. I drive us everywhere instead of being driven. I do all the shopping. I run our company by myself while you recover. I take care of all of the legal documents. I sort out medical bills and any other bills that we have . . ." Her words were rushed and sharp and agitated as she continued to prepare a meal.

"Nat . . . I know there's a lot on your plate right now, but I already told you I can go back to running the company if you need a break. And I know you're not used to a life where we have to do all of this ourselves but we've overused and overestimated our wealth the past few years. We need to wait until the next line comes out to go back to the way things were." He walked over to her and moved his hand down her arm and then took her hand in his and kissed it. "In the mean time, let me help you with this. I'm capable enough to go back to work. And I can take care of myself and Bella. I can help with the legal and medical stuff too. Just let me help you."

"No. You're not recovered enough yet. You can't go back to work. And you can't take care of yourself and Bella. You're not there yet. I'll take care of you two -"

"Nat. I can go back to work. The two of us own the company, so the two of us will run it."

She moved back across the kitchen to where the rest of the ingredients were and began chopping and prepping more. "You're just not ready. I can't have you going back to work in your condition."

"What condition!? I am completely recovered mentally. I've even remembered or relearned everything that I forgot. And I'm as recovered as I will ever be physically, unless you get some magic spell to fix my wrist. Nat, you need to let me-"

"I'm not letting you go back! You're going to do more physical therapy starting next week." Her words were more rushed than ever. Anxiety was taking over and Natalia moved hastily across the kitchen, doing everything she could to avoid eye contact with Kaoru. "I knew I shouldn't have gone out for a run. The house was a mess when I got back-"

"Bella and I were playing in the living room."

She was mumbling, but her voice was loud enough to make out what she was saying. It was unclear whether she was talking to herself or her husband at this point. "I walk in and I step on a pile of shattered glass. There is a four year old girl living here. She could have been seriously hurt. Everything was a mess. Broken glass on the floor. Toys all over the room. The television left on. Snacks everywhere."

"Nat."

Natalia continued to mumble and rant as she cut more food. Her cutting became more and more aggressive as her mumbled rant continued. Her hands moved faster and shakier with each movement until she finally moved too fast and sliced the top of her index finger. "Shit."

"Nat, calm down. Let me get you a bandaid. I think you should stop cooking for a minute, okay? Maybe we should order out tonight instead."

Kaoru moved to the doorframe of the kitchen to make his way upstairs to retrieve a bandaid for his wife, but she pushed passed him and hurried upstairs, her mouth on her finger to stop the bleeding.

Kaoru rushed after her upstairs. "Nat . . . hun. Calm down, please. Talk to me."

Natalia rushed into the room and quickly put a bandaid on her finger, mumble-ranting all the while. "I can't believe I just sliced my damn finger. I can't even cut right. How the hell am I supposed to take care of my family when I can't even cut a stupid tomato-"

"NATALIA!" Kaoru stood behind his wife and shouted her name to get her attention. "Natalia Elena Rossi, look at me right now!"

She refused to look at him still. "My name isn't Rossi anymore. It's Hitachiin."

"Yes. Because you took my last name when you agreed to marry me. And successful married couples, as far as I can tell, talk to each other when they are upset. So look at me and talk to me."

She turned around, stared at Kaoru for a split second, and broke. Kaoru, seeing his wife break, rushed over to her and pulled her into an embrace with his usable arm. "Shhh. Nat . . . Hun. . . I didn't mean to- it's okay. Just talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

Natalia held onto her husband and cried into his shirt. "I-I'm so sorry . . . I'm so so sorry."

"Why are you apologising?"

"I'm a mess. I'm falling apart because I'm doing everything I can to make sure you don't."

He rubbed her arm and kissed the top of her head. "No. I'm supposed to be a nervous wreck, not you. And I still am. But I'm trying to relieve your stress so that you can balance us out again."

"You scare me when you have your anxiety attacks . . ." She sniffled and cried quieter. "I-I just want to help you. When they told us that you might act differently, I didn't think it'd be like that . . . And now I'm doing it too . . ."

"I know. I know and I'm sorry for doing that. But I don't do that nearly as often as I used to."

"You did it yesterday . . ."

"I know . . . I'm sorry for scaring you like that, hun. But you need to realise that you were scaring me too. Not like I did to you but . . . I was afraid you would hurt yourself. Almost as afraid I was yesterday that I would hurt you . . . But like I've been saying, you need to let me help you so that this doesn't happen anymore. I know you try to help me when I slip but I need to help myself with that . . . And therapy . . . But I need to stop you from hurting yourself, Nat."

Natalia broke out into loud sobs again as she spoke. "I-I just . . . It just scares me. I don't want to lose you again. I don't want to lose you ever again. I'm so afraid that you'll leave again and I can't do anything about it." She looked up at Kaoru through her red, tear-stained eyes. "I don't want you to go back to work again because last time you went to work, you didn't come back. Last time you went to work, you were gone for a week and almost dead for three more. I can't lose you again, Kaoru. I can't. I know I can't. And I know Bella can't either. I can't let you go back to work."

He hugged her tight and kissed her again. "I know you don't want to lose me again. I don't want to leave again. But honestly, I think you and Bella are stronger than you realise."

Natalia laughed quietly and shook her head.

"What?"

"You must not be paying attention then. We're both letting on that we're stronger than we are. She's only four but she's a brilliant little actress."

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't believe you haven't noticed." Nat pulled away from Kaoru and went to make sure Bella wasn't hiding around a corner, listening in. She walked back to Kaoru and sighed before continuing. "Bella cries all the time now."

"What? No she doesn't!"

"Every time you have to go to therapy or anything like that - Any time she's alone with me, she cries. Every time you're not with us, she thinks you're not coming back. She always asks me why you went away again."

"Then why is she all cheery when I'm with her and you're gone?"

"Because I've always come back." Those words resonated through Kaoru's skull. His eyes went wide and he sat down on the ground, running his hand over his face. "She's never dealt with worrying about my return. She's never had to. But with you-"

"With me she thinks every time I leave the house, the result will be the same as the wreck." He looked up at Natalia, who had moved to sit down across from her husband. "And that's why she's always happy when I'm around. It's like a new miracle every time I come home . . ."

Natalia moved forward and sat on her knees. She grabbed Kaoru's left hand in her own and smiled at him. "It's alright though." She moved her right hand to the side of Kaoru's head, moving it in his hair to feel the scar. Her touch caused him to flinch and pull her hand away. "Does it still hurt?"

"No. Just a reflex, sorry."

Natalia smiled again and cupped her husband's face in both of her palms. She kissed him and leaned in so that their foreheads were touching. "That scar . . . Your wrist . . . The amnesia . . . Everything . . . All of that is just a reminder that you were able and strong enough to come back. I know Bella and I are barely hanging on right now, but the fact that you're here and well enough to make things feel at least somewhat back to normal . . . that makes it better. And you can tell. Just look at how happy Isabella is every time she sees your face."

"But what about you?"

"What about me?"

"You just had an anxiety attack, Nat. And you're still shaking from it."

"I'll be fine. I'm calming down now. Don't worry."

Kaoru stood up and pulled Natalia up with him. "Alright that's it."

"What?"

"I'm going back to work. You're taking me back to work so that we can get that line out faster and things can go back to normal."

"But what about-"

"Bella is coming with us. She can help too."

"She's starting school soon, Kaoru."

"Well then she can have some business management skills under her belt before her first day of school. She'll be at the top her class in no time." Kaoru turned to walk back out the door. "Oh and that reminds me. I want Isabella to go to Ouran for middle and high school if that's alright with you. That means we'll have to move to Japan in a few years."

"See about that." Natalia stopped in her tracks.

He turned to glance at her. "What? Are you alright? I thought you said you were calming down."

"I'm - I'm better than before . . . But . . . When you were in the hospital . . . In the coma you know . . . I kind of had some help from Tamaki for this-"

"For what? Why would you need Tamaki's help? It's not like Bella is going to Ouran _now._ "

"Well she's going to very soon."

Kaoru turned to Natalia, a shocked expression on his face. "Are we going to ship off our daughter to Japan now?!"

"Nononono! We're going with her! That's what I needed Tamaki's help for. He helped me set up her classes and he helped with the real estate side of it. All we have to do it move. I was waiting for you to recover fully before we left but -"

"Wait you bought us a house in Japan?"

"That's probably the main reason we're tight on money for once. Combining the move with the medical bills and whatnot . . ."

"Where in Japan?"

"It's actually not that far from your parents' estate."

Kaoru ran over to his wife, pulled her into a hug, and kissed her. "I'm so glad you married me. We're moving by the end of the week!" He pulled away and smiled at her. "We're going home!"

"Well it's your home. My home is about forty-five minutes from here."

"It's _our_ home now, Nat." He moved to leave the room. "I'm going to tell Bella!" Kaoru turned back right before he left the room. "This will be great for all of us Nat."

* * *

**_One month later - 25 February 2023_ **

" _So how are you all adjusting? Is Bells alright in Japan?"_

"Everything's great! It took a bit to start adjusting for Nat and Bella . . . I mean Nat's Japanese is rough - really rough - and Bella pretty much has a grasp on it since I taught her some when she was a little younger too. Other than that, it's fantastic. Nat picked out a really great house for us. And now we're just working and letting Bella work with us until she starts preschool in April."

" _That's great, Kaoru. I was actually thinking about moving back in a few years too."_

"Well you'd have to convince Chris about that one, Hikaru. Did you want to move back so that Hibiki could go to Ouran like we did?"

" _Well yeah. Hibiki and any other kids we have. That and I want to be back with all of you guys. We're so far away in L.A. that it feels like we're on a different planet."_

"Wait . . .Other kids? Since when did you want any other kids? I thought you were barely hanging in there since Hibiki was born."

" _I'm not going to lie and say I haven't been hanging on by a string since he was born. But Chris wants another one already. His own this time. And like . . . I don't know I really can't say no to that. And Hibiki isn't that bad. He's just a little . . . Loud . . . For right now at least."_

"He's only eleven days old, Hikaru."

" _I know." Hikaru deadpanned on the other line._

Kaoru laughed. "I guess being born on your anniversary was a sign then?"

" _Seems like it now."_

"I should probably let you get some sleep now then. You'll need all the sleep you can get."

" _I've discovered that. Thanks for the warning."_

"Hey to be fair, I never thought you would have kids."

" _I can't help but be slightly offended."_

"Just go to sleep, Hikaru." Kaoru laughed at his brother again.

" _Alright alright. Tell Bella I said hi. And I guess Nat too. But I mean she probably won't want to hear it."_

"Hikaru."

" _Alright alright. I'm sorry. I'll go now. And I'll text you whenever."_

"Okay. See you. And take care of that baby!"

" _What the hell do you think I've been doing?"_

"Bye , Hikaru."

" _See ya."_

He hung up the phone and turned around to see Bella standing in the doorway, her teddy bear covering half of her face. "Hey Bells. Are you alright?"

She nodded and trotted over to her father and looked up at him. "Who were you talkin wit? Wassit Mommy?"

Kaoru moved and picked her up. "Nope. Mommy's upstairs so I wouldn't need to call her on the phone."

"Then who?"

"I was just talking to my brother."

Bella's face lit up immediately. "Hika!?"

"Kaoru laughed and carried Bella into the living room. "Yep. That's him."

"What did you talk with him about?"

"Well we talked about you and how you're starting school soon." Bella squealed and buried her face in Kaoru's neck. "And we talked about Mommy and how we just moved to Japan. And we also talked about the baby."

Bella looked up. "The baby. Hiki - Hi - Hib -"

"Hibiki."

"Hibiki!"

"Yep. He's your -"

"Cousin!"

Kaoru laughed again and kissed the top of Bella's head. "You seem very excited about all of this."

"Well that's 'cause we're all better now!" She leaned against her father's chest and smiled as she spoke. "Mommy isn't crying all the time anymore - and-and you don't break the cups and get mad no more - and you and mommy don't yell anymore." She looked up at Kaoru and smiled. "And you don't gotta wear the big thingy that holds up your arm around your neck like a little purse. You only gotta have the little one, see!" She pointed at the small black wrist brace that was on Kaoru's right arm.

Kaoru took a deep breath and smiled. "That's right, Bells. We're all better now. No more yelling and stuff like that."

Bella was leaning against his chest again. "Oh and I go to school with Adrian."

"You know you get to go to school with other people you already know, too."

"No. Just Adrian. Adrian's my best friend."

He laughed and put Bella on the couch in the living room. "I'm glad to hear that you get along with him that well."

Natalia walked into the living room and cleared her throat to get her husband's attention. "Are you going to help me finish unpacking anytime soon?"

Bella sprang off the couch and ran to her mother. "I'll help Mommy!"

Kaoru walked over to the two girls and followed them upstairs to finish unpacking the boxes for the bedrooms. "Alright let's finish this."

Bella grabbed onto Kaoru's left hand and pulled him along in behind her. As Kaoru and Bella swiftly passed Natalia, she leaned in and kissed her husband.

As Kaoru was being dragged away he looked back and smiled at Natalia and mouthed words to her. "I think Bella's back."

She gave him a sad smiled and nodded. "I really hope so."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's that! I have to say, I didn't expect to go over 10k with this let alone 13k. This chapter was a huge deal for me. It was very difficult to put these characters through all this shit but then again I love angst so it wasn't unbearable. I hope I didn't make anyone hate me. And please I know Kaoru's anxiety attack is definitely not what most people think of but that kind of thing does happen and I would NEVER let his character go any worse than he did. He stopped himself for a reason and he never got worse than that. Don't worry both of them have VERY minimal problems with anxiety after this thanks to extensive therapy. So the family is back to (almost) normal. There are still some bugs with them but nothing terrible trust me. I love this couple too much to ruin it.
> 
> So please don't hate me or stop reading this fic because of this chapter. If you have any problems with anxiety attacks and didn't read that part, just pm me if you want a non-descript and non-triggering summary of what happened.
> 
> PLEASE REVIEW AND KEEP READING! I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOOO MUCH!

**Author's Note:**

> I have been posting this on ff . net this entire time so now this is just a transfer. It's pretty old and doesn't necessarily display my current writing skills. I am going to write more as soon as I can. Also for descrepencies with facts and spellings of words or names, i already know. you dont have to remind me. Please do review though. I would love if this audience grew! Thanks!


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